Stranded at Plimoth Plantation, 1626

Bowen (My Village, Sturbridge) gives an account of the year 1626 at the by-then-well-established Pilgrim colony, rendered in the form of a journal kept by an orphaned 13-year-old. Shipwrecked on the way to Jamestown, taken in by the settlers at Plimoth, Christopher Sears observes their customs, planting, harvesting, home tutoring, the eight-hour Sabbath meeting, court day, the use of the stocks, etc. Weddings and births provide happy breaks from the routine. Sadly, Christopher's much-loved foster mother falls ill with ``the general sickness'' that killed so many of the Pilgrims, and dies. Tinted woodcuts also add interest, partly because they are notionally Christopher's work. Of course, it's unlikely that a self-taught teenager would in a few months progress from a simple monochromatic turkey to a splendid scene of snow-covered Plimoth, informed by 20th-century ideas of perspective, but the woodcuts suit the tone of the narrative. Later in the year, he notes, ``I may be in love with Humility Cooper, who was put to Thomas and Patience Prence,'' and his story ends with hope and his staying on at Plimoth. All these details and events do not add up to a story, but do give the reader a rich taste of daily life in a Pilgrim colony. Ages 8-12. (Sept.)