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Not to be confused with "A Journey to the New World" (film).

"This place they deemed was perfect for our company. They be calling it Plimoth after that place from which we set out in England long months ago. And tomorrow we weigh anchor to go forth to our new home. And this be it, this truly be it."
Remember Whipple[2]

A Journey to the New World: The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple is the first book in Scholastic's Dear America. It was written by Kathryn Lasky. The book was published in September 1996 and reissued in September 2010. It was adapted into a television film in 1999. The book has also been translated into French, Japanese, Chinese, and Italian.

The book follows Remember Whipple, a Pilgrim who sails on the Mayflower to the New World.

Dedication[]

"To today's young immigrants, pilgrims all"

Book description[]

"November 6, 1620
2,950 miles sailed

"Land ahoy!"
The call from the crow's nest cracked the dawn. Hummy's and my eyes flew open...we all hurried out. Unable to believe the words, our eyes wide in the half-light of dawn. Several of us crowded along the rail. The sailors saw it first, the faint, dark line against the horizon.... But within minutes of searching the horizon with our eyes, Hummy and I began to see the same.
We held each other's hands so tightly and almost dared not breathe, but minute by minute, the line became firmer and began to thicken. 'Twas not a wisp of a dream but real. It has taken us all of sixty-five days, but finally we are here. This be the New World and it doth fill my eyes for the first time.
"

"My name is Mem. This is my story....
Twelve year old Remember Patience Whipple ("Mem" for short) and her family have set out to make the perilous journey from Europe to the New World on the
Mayflower. The voyage is grueling, as storms and gales and seasickness batter the passengers relentlessly. Then Mem and the others finally reach land, where they discover that conditions are not much better. When Squanto and Samoset, two Native Americans, come to the Plimoth settlement, Mem knows that her people will need their help to survive.
Will Mem be able to brave the treacherous surroundings through this year of trial, tragedy, and thanksgiving?
"

"9th November, 1620
Mayflower
2,950 miles sailed

"Land ahoy!" The call from the crow's nest cracked the dawn. Several of us crowded along the rail. The sailors saw it first, the faint dark line against the horizon...within minutes, Hummy and I began to see the same.
We held each other's hands so tightly and almost dared not to breathe, but minute by minute the line became firmer and began to thicken. Twas not a wisp of a dream but real. It had taken us all of 65 days but finally we are here. This be the New World and it doth fill my eyes for the first time.
"

""We are journeying to the New World. It is the Mayflower that be getting us there, slowly."
It's 1620 and Remember (Mem) and her family have survived the grueling sea voyage and reached the New World. Despite bad conditions, Mem is fearless—she helps care for the sick and wants more than anything to settle into her new home.
Will she be able to do so with her friends and family?
"

"Partage le journal d'Esther et vis avec elle son périlleux voyage vers le Nouveau Monde.
⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻
Mayflower, 1620. <<Terre en vue!>> L'appel de l'homme de vigie déchira l'aube. Nous nous précipitâmes sur le pont. Les marins furent les premiers à l'apercevoir, ligne sombre à peine visible contre l'horizon. Au bout de longues minutes, Hummy et moi commençâmes à la distinguer à notre tour. Ce n'était pas un simple mirage, c'était quelque chose de réel. Certes, le voyage avait duré soixante-cinq interminables journées, mais nous voilà arrivés. Ceci est le Nouveau Monde; je m'en emplis les yeux pir la première fois.
"

"Partage le journal intime d'Esther et vis avec elle l'épique voyage du Mayflower, puis la périlleuse installation des premiers colons anglais en Amérique. En fin d'ouvrage, un supplément historique sur l'aventure des pionniers qui ont fondé les futurs États-Unis.
<<Mayflower, 1620. "Terre en vue!" L'appel de l'homme de vigie déchira l'aube. Nous nous précipitâmes sur le pont. Les marins furent les premiers à l'apercevoir, ligne sombre à peine visible contre l'horizon. Au bout de longues minutes, Hummy et moi commençâmes à la distinguer à notre tour. Ce n'était pas un simple mirage, c'était quelque chose de réel. Certes, le voyage a duré soixante-cinq interminables journées, mais nous voilà arrivés. Ceci est le Nouveau Monde; je m'en emplis les yeux pir la première fois.>>
"

Plot[]

Remember Patience Whipple, or Mem for short, is a twelve-year-old sailing on the Mayflower towards the New World. Her family belongs to the Saints of the Holy Discipline, called Saints or Separatists, and are searching for religious freedom. Mem befriends a girl her age, Humility "Hummy" Sawyer. Hummy's mother passed away just before the voyage began. Her father has been in a "melancholy" ever since. Hummy and her father are Strangers since they are not Saints. William Bradford has dubbed the whole group Pilgrims, which Mem prefers.

By November 1620, the Mayflower has reached Cape Cod Bay, instead of its intended destination Virginia. The men argue and finally reach an agreement, known as the Mayflower Compact. They are also elect a governor. Mem and the other women are allowed to go to shore a few days later. For about a month, they are mostly confined to the ship as the men explore the nearby land. They eventually find an area they deem "superior", and name it Plymouth.

Construction on the settlement's common house begins. Mem's family has their on home by the end of January 1621. Meanwhile, many of the settlers become sick, including Mem's mother. Everyday Mem takes care her in the community's sick house. In mid-March, a friendly Indian named Samoset visits and later comes back with Squanto. Mem is distracted by their new friends and feels bad for not realizing her mother has grown worse. She dies a few days later. Hummy's father later decides to return to England.

Mem stops writing for two months, grieving the loss of her mother and best friend. By late July, she has noticed an "attraction" between her father and Hannah Potts. Mem is not very fond of Hannah, whose quietness annoys her. She later becomes more patient with Hannah, after a misunderstanding. In October, Hannah and Mem's father are married. Several days later, the Indian chief Massasoit and his tribe join the Pilgrims in a three day feast. Mem falls ill and Hannah looks after her for two weeks. After recovering, Mem climbs up a hill to watch the new ship approach.

Epilogue[]

Mem never saw her friend Hummy again. At nineteen-years-old, Mem married William Endicott in 1628. Two years later, she and her husband moved to the newly founded Boston where he became a successful merchant. Mem gave birth to twins, Humility and Grace. Blessing moved to Boston after marrying William's cousin, followed by Hannah and her two sons after her husband died. Mem lived a long, fulfilled life surrounded by her children and their children. Her great-great-great granddaughter Humility Albright found Mem's journal in an old trunk in 1850.

Historical Note[]

In England, the Puritans desired to separate themselves from the Church of England's. Due to persecution, a group moved to Leyden, Holland in 1607. Desiring to create their own colony, the Pilgrims sailed to the New World in 1620 after receiving financial backing in London. They settled at Plymouth in the dead of winter, which caused many colonists to die of starvation or disease. Three months after their arrival, the Pilgrims met Samoset whom introduced them to Squanto. The colony survived thanks to Squanto's guidance. That October, the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving and invited neighboring tribes. The note includes ten pictures as well as maps of the Mayflower and Massachusetts.

Characters[]

Main article: List of A Journey to the New World characters

Adaptation[]

Journey-to-the-New-World-film

The film on video tape

Main article: A Journey to the New World (film)

A Journey to the New World was adapted into a television film in 1999. The film was produced by Scholastic Entertainment and aired on HBO. It was released on video tape the same year. Alison Pill starred in the film as Mem.

Author[]

Main article: Kathryn Lasky

Kathryn Lasky is children's author best known for her Guardians of Ga'Hoole series, which was adapted into an animated film. Lasky wrote four books in Dear America, including Dreams in the Golden Country, Christmas After All, and A Time for Courage. She also contributed five titles in The Royal Diaries, one in My Name Is America, and three in My America. Having sailed across the Atlantic Ocean twice, Lasky "drew on first-hand experience" while writing A Journey to the New World. Like Mem, she was also sick on her journeys.

Editions[]

Journey-to-the-New-World-audio-book
  • Narrator: Bonnie Kelley-Young, Barbara Rosenblat
  • Publisher: Live Oak Media
  • Published: May 31, 2008[14]
  • Running time: 3 hours and 5 minutes
  • No. of discs: 3
  • ISBN: 9781430103677[15]

Awards[]

  • NCSS/CBC Notable Social Studies Trade Book for Young People[16]
  • American Bookseller Pick of the Lists[16]

Notes[]

  • The portrait on the cover of the first edition is a detail from the 1867 painting Pilgrims Going to Church by George Henry Boughton. The background is a detail of a 1905 engraving from the Granger Collection.[17][18][19]
  • The portrait on the Dear America reprint was illustrated by Tim O'Brien. It also uses the same background image from the first edition.
  • The portrait on the cover of the first My Story reprint is a detail from Anthonie Palamedesz's painting Portrait of a Girl. The background is The Mayflower in Plymouth by William Halsall.[20][21][22]
  • The cover of the second My Story edition was illustrated by Euan Cook.[23]
  • The Japanese edition of the book was illustrated by Isao Takada (高田勲).[24]

References[]

  1. https://www.amazon.com/Journey-New-World-Remember-Mayflower/dp/059050214X/
  2. A Journey to the New World, Kathryn Lasky, page 70
  3. https://book.douban.com/subject/1543415/ (Chinese)
  4. https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/4265041736
  5. https://www.amazon.it/dp/8845126463 (Italian)
  6. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mayflower-My-Story-Kathryn-Lasky/dp/0439981158/
  7. https://www.amazon.fr/En-route-vers-Nouveau-Monde/dp/207057038X/ (French)
  8. https://www.amazon.com/Dear-America-Journey-New-World/dp/0545238013/
  9. https://book.douban.com/subject/27047694/ (Chinese)
  10. https://www.gallimard-jeunesse.fr/9782075107938/en-route-vers-le-nouveau-monde.html (French)
  11. https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mayflower-My-Story-Kathryn-Lasky/dp/0702303593/
  12. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B005ES46C6/
  13. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B088ZQ8WPC/
  14. https://www.overdrive.com/media/323359/a-journey-to-the-new-world
  15. http://www.liveoakmedia.com/showproducts.cfm?FullCat=36 (archive)
  16. 16.0 16.1 http://www.scholastic.com/dearamerica/books/praise.htm (archive)
  17. A Journey to the New World, Kathryn Lasky, page 173
  18. https://emuseum.nyhistory.org/objects/22545/pilgrims-going-to-church
  19. https://www.granger.com/results.asp?inline=true&image=0009742&wwwflag=4&itemx=16
  20. Mayflower, Kathryn Lasky, page 4
  21. https://onlineonly.christies.com/s/old-master-paintings-sculpture/anthonie-palamedesz-leith-1601-1673-amsterdam-141/171132
  22. https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/news-photo/the-mayflower-in-plymouth-harbor-massachusetts-1620-news-photo/640266503
  23. https://www.arenaillustration.com/news/2021/09/my-story-series-new-look-covers-illustrated-by-euan-cook/
  24. https://www.iwasakishoten.co.jp/book/b429388.html (Japanese)

See also[]

Resources:
Arts & Crafts, File:A Journey to the New World Discussion Guide.pdf, File:A Journey to the New World Paper Doll.pdf


Dear America
Original

A Journey to the New World | The Winter of Red Snow | When Will This Cruel War Be Over? | A Picture of Freedom
Across the Wide and Lonesome Prairie | So Far from Home | I Thought My Soul Would Rise and Fly
West to a Land of Plenty | Dreams in the Golden Country | Standing in the Light | Voyage on the Great Titanic
A Line in the Sand | My Heart Is on the Ground | The Great Railroad Race | The Girl Who Chased Away Sorrow
A Light in the Storm | Color Me Dark | A Coal Miner's Bride | My Secret War | One Eye Laughing, the Other Weeping
Valley of the Moon | Seeds of Hope | Early Sunday Morning | My Face to the Wind | Christmas After All
A Time for Courage | Where Have All the Flowers Gone? | Mirror, Mirror on the Wall | Survival in the Storm
When Christmas Comes Again | Land of the Buffalo Bones | Love Thy Neighbor | All the Stars in the Sky
Look to the Hills | I Walk in Dread | Hear My Sorrow

Relaunch

The Fences Between Us | Like the Willow Tree | Cannons at Dawn | With the Might of Angels | Behind the Masks
Down the Rabbit Hole | A City Tossed and Broken


My Story
Original

The Hunger | Voyage on the Great Titanic | The Crystal Palace | Blitz | My Tudor Queen | Twentieth-Century Girl
The Great Plague | The '45 Rising | Civil War | Trafalgar | The Trenches | Battle of Britain | Mill Girl | Transported
Armada | Crimea | Bloody Tower | Indian Mutiny | Zulu War | Mayflower | Agincourt | Suffragette | Waterloo | Slave Girl
Flying Ace | Anne Boleyn and Me | D-Day | Victorian Workhouse | Spy Smuggler | Desert Danger | War Nurse
U-Boat Hunter | The Queen's Spies

1st relaunch

Princess of Egypt | Pompeii | Road to War | Roman Invasion | Viking Blood | Highway Girl | Sophie's Secret War
The Storm to Come | The Sweep's Boy | The Fall of the Blade | Pyramid of Secrets | Factory Girl | Dodger!
No Way Back | Wartime Princess | London Stories | Berlin Olympics | Lady Jane Grey | Nowhere to Run

2nd relaunch

Codename Céline

3rd relaunch

Noor-un-Nissa Inayat Khan | Ignatius Sancho | Princess Sophia Duleep Singh | Mary Prince

My Royal Story

Victoria | Anastasia | Cleopatra | Marie Antoinette | Elizabeth | Mary, Queen of Scots | Henry VIII's Wives

My True Story

What If They Find Us? | Hero at Dunkirk | Standing Alone | Give Us the Vote!

External links[]

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