What really happened at the first harvest gathering between Wampanoag Indians and English settlers? So little was documented then that, over time, the event has become mythologized and celebrated as the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. Based on the in-depth research conducted in recent years at the Plimoth Plantation living history museum, Grace and Bruchac separate fact from fantasy and provide an account of what most likely happened. Color photographs from a three-day reenactment that occurred at Plimoth Plantation in 2000 add accurate cultural and historical details. (Ages 7–14)

Countering the prevailing, traditional story of the first Thanksgiving, with its black-hatted, silver-buckled Pilgrims; blanket-clad, be-feathered Indians; cranberry sauce; pumpkin pie; and turkey, this lushly illustrated photo-essay presents a more measured, balanced, and historically accurate version of the three-day harvest celebration in 1621.