The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower, or John Howland's Good Fortune

by P.J. Lynch, P. J. Lynch (Illustrator)

Overview

“This feast of a book . . . will captivate readers from its opening double-page spread. . . . Sweeping and grand, this personal take on a familiar story is an engaging success.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Leaving the docks of London on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to Pilgrim John Carver, John Howland little knew that he was embarking on the adventure of a lifetime. By his great good fortune, John survived falling overboard on the crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, and he earned his keep ashore by helping to scout a safe harbor and landing site for his bedraggled and ill shipmates. Would his luck continue to hold amid the dangers and adversity of the Pilgrims’ lives in New England? P.J. Lynch captures this pivotal moment in American history in precise and exquisite detail, from the light on the froth of a breaking wave to the questioning voice of a teen in a new world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536202960
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	10/02/2018
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	64
Sales rank:	259,408
Product dimensions:	9.80(w) x 10.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	940L (what's this?)
Age Range:	7 - 10 Years

About the Author

P.J. Lynch, one of the most accomplished children’s book creators working today, has won the Kate Greenaway Medal twice and the Christopher Medal three times. His meticulous research brings impeccable detail to the twenty books he has illustrated, including The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey by Susan Wojciechowski, When Jessie Came Across the Sea by Amy Hest, A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and Mysterious Traveler by Mal Peet and Elspeth Graham. P.J. Lynch lives in Dublin.

Editorial Reviews

The story behind the first Thanksgiving…has the makings of a great adventure tale. Yet it's rarely treated that way, perhaps because it's so bound up in our national mythology. It tends to sag under the weight of its own symbolism…For adult readers, Nathaniel Philbrick's 2006 Mayflower rescued the tale from banality, and now the distinguished Irish illustrator P.J. Lynch has done the same for children. The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower is narrated by a real-life character, John Howland…Lynch gives him a fresh, winning voice, evocative of the English actually spoken at that time but completely accessible to a contemporary grade schooler…Lynch's story moves along briskly, with chunks of text set among his scenic, rousing, posterlike illustrations…Lynch does a great job conveying to children the important message embedded in the Thanksgiving story: that supportive coexistence between differing cultures is indeed possible, and that peaceable, open-minded people like John Howland…can help make it happen.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 06/15/2015
In his authorial debut, Lynch (Mysterious Traveler) presents an intimate account of the Mayflower crossing and the Pilgrims’ first year in America. His imagined first-person narration by real-life indentured servant John Howland employs a zoom-lens focus in its description of pivotal episodes in the harrowing journey. One of these is Howland’s fall overboard: “Down and down I went into the darkness under the icy waves. It was quiet down there, no raging wind or rain like up above.” An eerie underwater blue-green spread shows Howland grasping for a submerged rope, the water’s surface and ship’s keel looming above. Lynch’s meticulous watercolor and gouache illustrations imbue the pages with cinematic energy. The opening birds-eye view of bustling 1620s London allows careful readers to spot a tiny Howland running through muddy streets on a clandestine errand; a later spread shows the Native Americans’ vantage from shadowy woods as they secretly watch the newly arrived Pilgrims. Short chapters with straightforward titles chronologically segment a familiar story that has been personalized through stunning artwork and insightful storytelling. Ages 7–10. Agent: Clare Conville, Conville & Walsh Literary Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

Based on historical fact, this feast of a book, the first illustrator Lynch has authored as well, will captivate readers from its opening double-page spread...What sets this book apart from myriad Pilgrim stories is Howland's personal point of view, which helps readers enter into the tenor of the time, when the settlers' religious faith both motivated and sustained them, and the dramatic illustrations with their expert play of expression, composition, and light.Sweeping and grand, this personal take on a familiar story is an engaging success.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

Lynch’s meticulous watercolor and gouache illustrations imbue the pages with cinematic energy. The opening birds-eye view of bustling 1620s London allows careful readers to spot a tiny Howland running through muddy streets on a clandestine errand; a later spread shows the Native Americans’ vantage from shadowy woods as they secretly watch the newly arrived Pilgrims. Short chapters with straightforward titles chronologically segment a familiar story that has been personalized through stunning artwork and insightful storytelling.
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

The clearly written, first- person account, told from John’s point of view, combines history with adventure and a hint of romance. Based on historical sources, the narrative is laced with well-imagined characterizations and conversations. The book’s wide format showcases Lynch’s dramatic and richly atmospheric watercolor and gouache paintings, which include strong individual character portrayals as well as beautifully composed scenes on land and at sea. This handsome volume offers a dramatic personal story of the Pilgrim’s voyage on the Mayflower and their early experiences in America.
—Booklist (starred review)

Coupled with richly detailed and often dramatic watercolor and gouache illustrations, Lynch’s fast-paced text brings a new excitement to the Thanksgiving story. An excellent choice for teachers seeking a new approach to the history of the Pilgrims.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Mr. Lynch’s first few paintings in this superb picture book so capture the squalor, overcrowding and political danger that the Pilgrims faced in the Old World...
—The Wall Street Journal

Enhanced by a large format that showcases Lynch’s striking watercolor and gouache illustrations, this fictionalized account of Howland’s story will spark young readers’ interest in learning more about the Wampanaog and English people who encountered one another so long ago.
—BookPage

Howland’s voice is vibrant and convincing, and Lynch deftly integrates information known about Howland’s future...Lynch’s wa- tercolor paintings harken back to the dramatically composed and illuminated work of N. C. Wyeth.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

P. J. Lynch has written a compelling accounting of young John Howland’s story and the larger story of the Mayflower. The writing is crisp, and the facts are presented in captivating prose. The rich, detailed paintings he uses to illustrate his story evoke times past and steep the readers in Howland’s journey. This is one of the finest middle-grade historical picture books available. Don’t miss it.
—San Francisco Book Review

This handsomely illustrated volume breathes life into the familiar Pilgrim story by narrating it from the point of view of John Howland, a young man who was indentured to first Plymouth governor, John Carver...Watercolor and gouache illustrations enhance the storytelling.
—School Library Connection

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2015
Gr 3–6—Lynch brings to vivid life the well-known story of the Pilgrims through the adventures and voice of John Howland. As a young man, Howland came across the Atlantic on the Mayflower as an indentured servant of John Carver, who would later become the first governor of the new colony. The book is told from Howland's first-person perspective, with plenty of dialogue. Some of Howland's story is familiar: the journey of the Mayflower, the trials of the new colony, the first encounters with the Wampanoag, Squanto's assistance, and the eventual peace that culminated in a Thanksgiving feast. Yet Lynch includes other information, such as the Speedwell, a ship from Holland that was intended to travel alongside the Mayflower; details of the life of indentured servants; the politics of the creation of the Mayflower Compact; the harrowing death rate of the new colony; and Howland's trajectory to personal commitment to the colony and to God. Coupled with richly detailed and often dramatic watercolor and gouache illustrations, Lynch's fast-paced text brings a new excitement to the Thanksgiving story. VERDICT An excellent choice for teachers seeking a new approach to the history of the Pilgrims.—Mariah Manley, Salt Lake City Public Library

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-16
A much-longer-than-typical picture book about the Mayflower's first landing in America and its aftermath, told through the eyes of one of its passengers. Based on historical fact, this feast of a book, the first illustrator Lynch has authored as well, will captivate readers from its opening double-page spread. Lynch's masterful watercolor and gouache illustrations—harkening back to the grand style of Howard Pyle and N.C. Wyeth—bring to life the true story of indentured servant John Howland, who sailed on the Mayflower with his master in 1620. Howland's narration relates the difficult ocean crossing and how, in a storm, he is swept overboard but miraculously rescued. Once land is reached, however, Howland and the other settlers find their difficulties have begun in earnest. Winter weather, lack of food, sickness, and aggression toward the native peoples all contribute to the demise of more than half the original settlers. But spring comes, the native people offer help, and the familiar Thanksgiving story is broached. What sets this book apart from myriad Pilgrim stories is Howland's personal point of view, which helps readers enter into the tenor of the time, when the settlers' religious faith both motivated and sustained them, and the dramatic illustrations with their expert play of expression, composition, and light.Sweeping and grand, this personal take on a familiar story is an engaging success. (bibliography, author's note) (Picture book. 6-14)

Kirkus Reviews