Love the approach, "just the REAL facts" take, and the mishmash of formats to keep things interesting.

What a fun way to learn about history! Provides information about the pilgrims, the time in history, in an interesting way, including how what we often think about history is different from fact.

History Smashers is such a fun way to teach kids the history they missed in school without being a boring text book. The topics are handled with humour, but still based in facts. I learned a few things too, and I'm sure kids will love the graphic novel style of learning.

This s a great book to show students how history can be flawed and actually rewritten, depending who is telling the story. It presents information in a way that young readers can understand it.

I was excited to see this series because it vaguely reminded me of the Horrible Histories books I loved when I was younger. And while this may not be exactly the same, it fills the same role - making history fun, accurate, and doesn't pull any punches when it comes to the less pleasant stuff. I think the mix of graphics, quotes from primary documents, and aside sections makes this an informative but fun historical nonfiction book for Middle grade audiences.

Thank you Random House and NetGalley for sharing this eARC in exchange for an honest review. This book is important and a must read. It is full of factual information, great story telling, and eye catching graphics.

A great introduction to history for kids. Introduces them to new concepts and presents it in a fun and engaging way.

"But as usual the true story was more complicated than the myth"

I loved this children's non fiction about The Mayflower and how the Pilgrims came to be and the start of the New World. As a History major in college and just a History nerd in general I thought this was such an excellent source for kids to learn the true about what we have always been taught in school. Kate Messner did such a great job breaking down the different terms historians use like primary sources, oral history, etc.. I also love how she talks about the real relationship between the Pilgrims and the Wampanoag people and how the English was taking over their land. This needs to be required reading for kids in grade school to learn the truth and not have this myth that America has decided to create.

Thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read this story! I'm always excited to get a book that's fun & educational into the hands of my eight year old son. He enjoyed reading!

I am here for Kate Messner and her amazing writing! Kids love her books and the fact that she is working to fix our knowledge of history is amazing! The History Smashers series is excellent for kids and adults who want to try to learn more correct history (though as Messner notes, our understanding of history is always changing).

Kate Messner is just such a talented author. It seems as if everything she writes turns into gold. History Smashers is a new series that I see upper elementary/middle-level students flocking towards.

In this new series, Kate Messner is tackling the history we all thought we knew... and she is smashing it. Through her new nonfiction series, students will be able to relearn history the right way. Kate Messner adds new definition to topics that everyone has had wrong for generations.

On top of having a smashing history lesson, young readers will love the hybrid of graphics and historical artifacts that are packed in History Smashers. These books have a fun graphic-novel like design with real-life photographs and maps included within the illustrated-makeup of the novels.

Another excellent title in the History Smashers series, this one detailing the pilgrims arrival in America. Like the other titles, the book makes this complicated history accessible to young readers who may not have been formally introduced to this in school (yet). I love the insets, comic illustrations, and photographs that enhance the text making it even more interesting for readers. I especially appreciate that these titles challenge pre-conceived ideas. In this book, Messner really questions the traditional representation of the early European settlers, making sure to dispel all the myths about the first Thanksgiving and highlighting the terrible treatment of indigenous people. Highly recommend this series for purchase and will be sharing with my 5th grade teachers as excellent curriculum supplements.

FIVE STARS!

When did the US celebrate the first official Thanksgiving holiday? It’s probably a lot later in history than you would think and this book tells you why! ⠀
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This spring we started studying the colonies and my daughter will continue studying them as part of her 5th grade curriculum next year. This book will be an amazing addition to our library. It’s easy to understand, contains great illustrations, some comic strips... it has everything kids will enjoy plus it cracks some of the myths we were taught as kids. ⠀
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Thank you to @netgalley for allowing me to review this fantastic book! ⠀

This book is geared for middle school readers but as an adult I enjoyed it. Who thought the Pilgrims traveling on the Mayflower could be interesting? They were persecuted and traveled to America right? Wrong. The book tells the truth about them. America wasn't their first choice. The book also includes lots of interesting facts among them 3 presidents were descendants of the Pilgrims, who both almost died. There are lots of interesting illustrations. Other books in the series include Pearl Harbor, Women's Right to Vote and the Titanic. I would be interested to read these other books also.

Kids would love history if all history books were this engaging and well written. Fascinating facts share with friends and family which explain about the not-always-balanced perspective of primary sources and the usefulness of archeology to show clearer picture. The author debunks myths like Plymouth Rock and the First Thanksgiving, explaining the plague that decimated the Wampanoag people prior to the Pilgrims arrival. It's clearly well researched with a broad perspective. It's accessible and easy to read with cartoons, illustrations, diagrams, and informational inserts.

A nice look into the story of the Pilgrims, the Mayflower, and the first Thanksgiving through a modern, nuanced lens (and critical, in the best way). The art is really fun and does a great job helping tell the story. There's lots for young readers to learn and question while still being engaged with the history itself. I'm looking forward to more History Smashers!

This series is going to be a HUGE hit! I just love that this book compares the myths to the truth, and debunks past paintings, speeches, and other documents that just don't line up with what really happened. Kate Messner is so relatable and made me laugh many times. I know that kids will enjoy this because each time she would say something along the lines of, "So you're thinking that this is when xx happened, right? Well, you're wrong", it makes the reader want to read more and find out the REAL truth.

I am all for finding nonfiction books that do more than just share rote facts. I am hoping to read and review the next several books in this series because it will definitely circulate a lot in my classroom and school!

Looking to taking teaching about the Plymouth settlement beyond black hats and buckles?
Need an historical non-fiction read aloud that will have students begging for more?
Hoping to discuss primary sources (and their accuracy?)
History Smashers: The Mayflower is a must-have edition to any middle grade library collection.

Two Truths and a Lie:
1. The Pilgrims sailed straight to Plymouth Rock from Great Britain and landed right where they intended.
2. The Pilgrims wore colorful clothes; including cloth of red and yellow.
3. The first time the famous “Plymouth Rock” is recorded in history is in 1741 when Thomas Faunce, a descendent of the Pilgrims, said that his family had told him the rock was the landing spot of the Mayflower. That’s over a hundred years after the Pilgrims arrived in Massachusetts!

HINT: it’s probably not the one you think it is, but you’ll have to read Kate Messner’s History Smashers: The Mayflower to find out for sure!

This is a really engaging work of nonfiction that will turn kids (and adults) knowledge of the Pilgrims upside down! Learn about the extended journey it took the Pilgrims to end up in North America, the true nature of their relationship with the Wampanoag people, and more about their daily life in the early days of their settlement.

VERDICT this is a must read series for readers ages 8-12. I think this will be an engaging read for kids who already love reading non-fiction, as well as a good entry point for those who are more reluctant to venture into the genre. The written text is engaging and fun and I love the illustrations, as well as primary resources, interspersed throughout. This is a really timely series at a moment where we are re-examining the way history is taught and who is a hero. Messner does an excellent job showing a fuller picture of who the Pilgrims were as a people and society, as well as and illustrating their problematic relationship with the Wampanoag people. I really appreciate that this book does not simply say everything is wrong with the history we’ve learned, but provides specific examples and context for how/why certain myths were created over time.

An informative and unbiased look at the English colonizing North American tribes & the harmful narratives that have whitewashed the horrors of that time. More books like this please!