The Pilgrims of Plimoth

In a text that mirrors their language and thoughts, Marcia Sewall has masterfully recreated the coming of the pilgrims to the New World, and the daily flow of their days during the first years in the colony they called Plimoth.

Aye, Governor Bradford calls us pilgrims. We are English and England was our home...But our lives were ruled by King James, and for many years it seemed as though our very hearts were in prison in England...
September, 1620, our lives changed. We were seventy menfolk and womenfolk, thirty-two good children, a handful of cocks and hens, and two dogs, gathered together on a dock in Plymouth, England, ready to set sail for America in a small ship called the Mayflower...

After an abundance of prayers and tears we made farewells at dockside and boarded our small ship. Our voyage across the Atlantic Ocean "began with a prosperous wind," but the sea soon became "sharp and violent" and storms howled about us.

When the pilgrims set out for America, they brought with them a dream for the future. Sickness, hardship, and heartache stood in the way of that dream. But the pilgrims worked hard, keeping their dream close to their hearts, until they were finally able to make it come true.


About the Author
Marcia Sewall has lived in New England all of her life, presently in Boston, and feels a deep attachment to the region. She is a graduate of Brown University in Rhode Island and has also studied at various art schools in the area.

Ms. Sewall's children's books have been among the New York Times best illustrated and ALA Notables and have been selected for exhibition by the American Institute of Graphic Arts and Bratislava International Biennale. She has taught art to students of all ages and at the present time she is teaching a course in children's book illustration.