The Pilgrim’s Voyage to America

Title: The Pilgrim’s Voyage to America
Author: Thomas Kingsley Troupe
Series: A Fly on the Wall History
Major Themes: Massachusetts, Mayflower, Pilgrims, Sailing
Synopsis: Two flies tell the story of the Pilgrim’s trip to America.

One of the books I found for our study of the Pilgrims and the Mayflower was The Pilgrim’s Voyage to America, from the series A Fly on the Wall History. I was interested in this book not only because the subject tied in with our history, but also because I’m always on the lookout for a new-to-me series that will be good. As with a lot of books, there were pros and cons to this one.

This book tells only the story of the voyage, beginning with boarding the ships in England and ending with leaving the Mayflower in the New World. This picture book is aimed at a slightly older audience than most; 9- or 10-year-olds would probably enjoy this one. It is written as if a pair of flies, who boarded the Mayflower with the Pilgrims, were telling the story. The actual story and the illustrations of the story are great; we really enjoyed them. The story is accurate and interesting, and the illustrations are realistic paintings.

On the other hand, the flies are on every page, conversing with each other, and we didn’t like them. They looked rather like aliens to us. Also, the font used for the story is one that some children will have trouble reading. Children who are strong readers won’t have any problem with it, but ones who struggle some will have an extra hard time deciphering the words simply because they appear somewhat hand-written.

My final decision on the Fly on the Wall History series is that I will get them from the library if I happen to see them, but I won’t buy them. They are what I would classify as “ok” books, but not great ones because of the alien-looking flies. I will still allow them in the house briefly because of the wonderful pictures (assuming others in the series are like this one!), but only briefly.

WARNING: As detailed in the review.