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Elizabeth's Jamestown Colony Diary #1
Our Strange New Land
In May 1607, three ships sailed up the James River in Virginia. In the riverbank marshes, they made land and hung the flag England¹s flag establishing the first permanent English colony in Jamestown Virginia. In 1609, the first ship carrying women and children arrived. After 71 days at sea, nine-year-old Elizabeth Baker is thrilled to be on dry land. Lizzie keeps a diary for Caleb, her twin brother who stayed in England because of his weak lungs. In her buoyant entries, Lizzie tells of the abundant forests, trading with and learning from the Indians, and adventures with her new friends.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews
November 6, 2008
This short book is part of an historical series written for 3rd-6th graders. It tells a compelling and believable story about life in the Jamestown colony from the viewpoint of 9 year old Elizabeth. The tension between settlers and Native Americans is well portrayed and the author lets us see both sides of that conflict as well as feel the pain and fear of remaining family members as settlers die from disease.
I would use this books as a 2nd grade read aloud for their Native American unit making sure students had plenty of time to discuss how they would feel if strangers came to their town and stole their food and enslaved their family members. What would their reactions be?
I would use it as an independent read for the 5th grade unit on migration.
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (May 27, 2002) Mentions this is one of an ongoing series and suggests this book is appropriate for 3rd-6th graders.
School Library Journal 08/01/00 says much the same remarking it is a quick and easy read and rating it for 3-5th graders.
These reviews are useful in selecting for reading levels but I would have appreciated a bit more information on the accuracy of the stories. There are historical notes at the end of the book but I don't know how accurate they are.
I would use this books as a 2nd grade read aloud for their Native American unit making sure students had plenty of time to discuss how they would feel if strangers came to their town and stole their food and enslaved their family members. What would their reactions be?
I would use it as an independent read for the 5th grade unit on migration.
Reviews:
Publishers Weekly (May 27, 2002) Mentions this is one of an ongoing series and suggests this book is appropriate for 3rd-6th graders.
School Library Journal 08/01/00 says much the same remarking it is a quick and easy read and rating it for 3-5th graders.
These reviews are useful in selecting for reading levels but I would have appreciated a bit more information on the accuracy of the stories. There are historical notes at the end of the book but I don't know how accurate they are.
December 15, 2017
A very quick read. It has very little depth, but would be enough to get a young child interested in the time period I suppose. This series would be good for elementary kids, as it is much shorter and simpler than Dear America, Royal Diaries and My name Is America, as well as having younger characters.
September 10, 2017
These books are just like the dear America diaries but written for a bit younger audience. And by turning them into three books it's a mini series and kids don't have to read one book for too long. Which honestly works well for me too.
This book made me think about how truly brave the first colonists at Jamestown were and how scary that time really was. I'd never actually put much thought into it before but I can't even imagine leaving well established cozy england to come to a wild dark and scary basically uninhabited new land. It's crazy!
This book made me think about how truly brave the first colonists at Jamestown were and how scary that time really was. I'd never actually put much thought into it before but I can't even imagine leaving well established cozy england to come to a wild dark and scary basically uninhabited new land. It's crazy!
June 14, 2024
This is a historical fiction book written in a diary style. I enjoyed learning about the daily life that occured during the time period. I'm not sure if it's all true but it definitely seemed plausible and I found it interesting. However, the plot itself is a little dull, the characters are not well developed, and it was a very simplistic book. To me it seemed like a book solely created to tell some history in the more unique and interesting way than a textbook but it really didn't read as a novel or great book.
July 19, 2018
Arriving in a New World can be scary and exciting. Our Strange New Land is the fictionalized diary of a nine-year-old colonist, covering August to October 1609 (ending just before the Starving Time). The story is mostly lighthearted, though several deaths and problems with the Natives are mentioned. It is perfect for late elementary age kids to get an idea of what life was like as an early settler in Jamestown.
March 12, 2014
BOOK REPORT #3
The name of my book is Our Strange New Land. The story was ok. It was about a girl named Elizabeth, her mom, dad, and brother. Elizabeth and her parents left England to come live in America and her brother stayed in England. Elizabeth and her family faced many hard ships such as scarce food, illness and even death but they made it to America ok. The plot was believable; however, it was uninteresting because there was not that much detail. The story would be more interesting if they had more details about the ship and the house to make me feel like I was a part of the story.
The characters of the book were Elizabeth, Pa, Ma, Captain Smith and Jessie. There are only a few characters that I can relate to such as Elizabeth, Pa and Ma. Elizabeth is a girl that likes to go outside like me. Pa is handy with tools like my dad, and Ma is pregnant with a baby girl and she’s like my friends mom. The author did not do a good job developing their characters because I couldn’t visualize them.
Elizabeth has successfully developed a character with good voice. This author writes in a different way she writes it as it’s a diary. She writes what she does during the day. She writes day by day by day, morning by night by morning by night.
The name of my book is Our Strange New Land. The story was ok. It was about a girl named Elizabeth, her mom, dad, and brother. Elizabeth and her parents left England to come live in America and her brother stayed in England. Elizabeth and her family faced many hard ships such as scarce food, illness and even death but they made it to America ok. The plot was believable; however, it was uninteresting because there was not that much detail. The story would be more interesting if they had more details about the ship and the house to make me feel like I was a part of the story.
The characters of the book were Elizabeth, Pa, Ma, Captain Smith and Jessie. There are only a few characters that I can relate to such as Elizabeth, Pa and Ma. Elizabeth is a girl that likes to go outside like me. Pa is handy with tools like my dad, and Ma is pregnant with a baby girl and she’s like my friends mom. The author did not do a good job developing their characters because I couldn’t visualize them.
Elizabeth has successfully developed a character with good voice. This author writes in a different way she writes it as it’s a diary. She writes what she does during the day. She writes day by day by day, morning by night by morning by night.
January 1, 2021
Elizabeth’s English was more modern than I felt was realistic.
December 11, 2014
this brings back to last year and 5th grade when a girl named Elizabeth who was a lived in a house but then moved to another home
March 14, 2017
It made me thankful for all the fun things I have
July 18, 2016
It helped me learn about my past!
December 3, 2017
I read through this book to see if it was appropriate for my young cousins; it's a Scholastic reader for maybe 2nd through 5th grade, although if I were in 5th grade or older, I would have tired of it quickly. It talks about three ships that made it to the Jamestown Colony in 1609, and it's a fake diary from the viewpoint of a young pre-teen girl. It's really simple, all short sentences, and rather unremarkable and unemotional. But it does talk about the diseases and death of the (mosquito-heavy) region, contention with American Indians, lazy colonists who didn't want to work in the New Land, and real historical figures who really existed, even if it is a very meh oversimplification of Pocahontas. Since it's diary entries, it never delves into any one story too long--something that I very much dislike, but maybe little girls don't care as much about that. It is a book for girls; I would not recommend it for boys.
December 4, 2018
I LOVE THIS BOOK TOO!!!
Elizabeth is 9 years old and her family is leaving England for the New Word/America. But she had to leave her twin brother behind because his lungs didn’t work properly. He would be joining them in the spring though. They board the mayflower. Elizabeth took her twin brother Caleb’s diary. Caleb is the one who stayed behind with his moms cousin. They get to the New World. Everyone thought it would be spectacular. Some of it is. Other parts of it... not quite. Elizabeth’s mom is about to have a baby. And there’s sickness, devouring friends and people. And parents. And children. Elizabeth writes about the Indians and how she walked in the roof to help build the home. She writes about young Pocahontas. And adult jolly Captain Smith. And brats, and raccoons who are mistaken for monkeys. And Caleb. In the end, we’ll.. there’s always a happy ending. All most always.
I love this book!!! I love historical fiction.
Elizabeth is 9 years old and her family is leaving England for the New Word/America. But she had to leave her twin brother behind because his lungs didn’t work properly. He would be joining them in the spring though. They board the mayflower. Elizabeth took her twin brother Caleb’s diary. Caleb is the one who stayed behind with his moms cousin. They get to the New World. Everyone thought it would be spectacular. Some of it is. Other parts of it... not quite. Elizabeth’s mom is about to have a baby. And there’s sickness, devouring friends and people. And parents. And children. Elizabeth writes about the Indians and how she walked in the roof to help build the home. She writes about young Pocahontas. And adult jolly Captain Smith. And brats, and raccoons who are mistaken for monkeys. And Caleb. In the end, we’ll.. there’s always a happy ending. All most always.
I love this book!!! I love historical fiction.
January 10, 2021
I read this quick book as I looked for resources in our library for 5th graders researching Jamestown. It's short and simple; it has some basic facts about Jamestown but mostly lends itself to inviting young readers to think about what it might have felt like to arrive in Jamestown in 1609. My opinion is that it would work well if read with an older reader or adult that could discuss some of the events and people mentioned and the different way of speaking (how some of the sentences are organized for example), but not so much as just a book to pick up and read for funsies. It's a nice introduction to raise further questions or build some background knowledge, but not enough information for my kiddos doing research.
January 21, 2021
This wasn't an overly incredible or moving book. I always forgot how horrible things were in the colonies. I don't know how much of this actually could or could not have happened. This book was intended for younger children so it makes sense having Elizabeth be so young, but I think I would have liked this a little bit better if she was a bit older. I didn't know it would be so hard to find books set in Colonial America. I didn't think the writing style was anything to write home about, but I still liked the book enough to read it and finish in one day.
MVP: Jessie and Pocahontas (The girl didn't speak much, but how can you dislike Pocahontas?!)
MVP: Jessie and Pocahontas (The girl didn't speak much, but how can you dislike Pocahontas?!)
February 2, 2023
If I was 8 or 9, I would have rated this book 4 stars. As an adult and a former homeschooling mom - it's just too shallow and barely scrapes the surface of what was going on historically (imo). I thought it didn't give enough context, but then again, it's in a diary format - so, I guess that limits it. The writing was ho-hum and cliche. I think young girls would enjoy it, though. ;-) It's a good book to have on a home bookshelf, but I wouldn't schedule it in as a homeschooler.
June 30, 2020
Quick read— I appreciated the historically accurate storylines woven into Elizabeth’s story. Much simpler than Blood on the River, but still gives the important details for striving readers who can’t access BOTR. This was great to get students into their own creative historical writing while they were learning about early Colonial America!
January 31, 2024
It's good for what it offers, a quick, easy, diary-style introduction to what life was like in the early Jamestown colony. My 3rd grader enjoyed it as an addition to our "Colonial America" Social Studies unit for homeschool. I wished it offered a little more depth of perspective and a more accurate depiction of some of the historical characters like John Smith and Pocahontas though.
January 5, 2018
Good look at how rough the Jamestown 1st families had it.
Also that lessons learned didn't seem to pass on to others who followed.
Treatment of Natives by various people and how the Colony did w/Cpt John Smith and then how things changed after he left.
Also that lessons learned didn't seem to pass on to others who followed.
Treatment of Natives by various people and how the Colony did w/Cpt John Smith and then how things changed after he left.
August 4, 2019
Short read, did kind of leave a cliff hanger. Did Elizabeth's family survive the winter? Did Caleb survive the Summer in England? Did Caleb return to his family safely in America? What will happen to Jessie?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 27, 2021
I remember liking this as a kid, probably because I found her encounters with Pocahontas and involvements with John Smith interesting. It's pretty good for what it is but it's probably not my personal favorites in the series.
March 21, 2017
I loved these short history diary books as a kid; I am very excited to collect and read all of these and the Dear America books.
November 17, 2017
I really like this book about all the struggles of the Jamestown colony.
July 15, 2018
A good Dear America book for ages 8-10.
October 15, 2019
3.5 however my 10 year old liked the book
October 26, 2020
Read with my students. Solid short historical fiction told from a child's point of view.
June 2, 2021
I thought this book was good. It was a rough one to get through but it was a pretty great read. Ioved how adventurous it was!
November 1, 2021
Olivia read on her own and rated it 4 stars.
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February 10, 2023This fictionalized book is about beliable story from an young colonizer's diary , she shared how was life in Jamestown colony .
April 7, 2023
Started my obsession with history, historical fiction, and the Jamestown Colony.
November 21, 2023
book for children but great for learning american history
Displaying 1 - 30 of 96 reviews