The book was a bit overly political for my liking. I appreciate the desire to explore the very complicated past and historical truths of American history, but I didn't care for the approach in this book.

As a middle school librarian of color, I'm excited to add "Colonization and the Wampanoag Story" to our collection. The textbook narrative too often diminishes Native peoples (even now), but this book centers the Wampanoag perspective. Through their voices and thoughtful analysis, we gain insights into Wampanoag life before colonization, including their expansive trade, agriculture, and governance. The book compellingly follows their struggle amidst rising colonial threats. This bottom-up view provides nuance missing from standard texts. I'm thrilled to present students with a more complete founding story. Because it is part of a series, this would be a beautiful gift to all American History teachers. This will deepen their empathy and critical thinking while challenging assumptions baked into traditional narratives. Coombs' wise book is the perfect supplement to open young minds.

Review ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐(5)/5
What a cool book! Weaving informational nonfiction chapters with experiential fictional narratives, *Colonization and the Wampanoag Story* provides a much-needed re-telling of indigenous history in the United States for a Middle Grade audience. Important topics and concepts like colonization, indigenous culture, economics, education, and religion are explained in the nonfiction chapters and then are illustrated through fictional chapters about a young Wampanoag (Little Bird) and her family. I enjoyed reading this book and found the clear and straightforward presentation of history to be accessible to young readers, while still being high quality in depth of content and critical perspective—a rarity in the Middle Grade Nonfiction space.

This book deserves a place in every school library, and I have already had multiple conversations with my colleagues in history departments about how this work could enhance their curriculum. I look forward to reading other books in the Race to the Truth series!

**Acknowledgments & Disclaimers**
✨ Thank you to NetGalley, Linda Coombs, and Random House Children’s/Crown Books for Young Readers, for providing an ARC and the opportunity to share an honest review of this book.
✨ All thoughts and opinions expressed in this review are my own.
✨ My reviews and ratings strive to evaluate books within their own age-demographic and genre.

With its combination of narrative fiction and nonfiction sections, Colonization and the Wampanoag Story provides a unique view of colonization of America and its impact on the native peoples living on the land. The narrative fiction sections provide an account of what day to day life was like for Wampanoag children prior to colonization. Culture, family structures, agriculture, and economics are all addressed throughout the narrative. The nonfiction sections interspersed between the fictional chapters counter the long-held myths about colonization, including the story of the first Thanksgiving. Thoughtful questions for readers are provided at the end of each nonfiction section to help readers process the information provided.

The fiction sections help readers develop a deeper understanding of how the arrival of European settlers and the imposition of their culture and rules as described in the nonfiction portions of the book disrupted the ways the Wampanoag and other tribes lived for years. Having the fiction section told from the perspective of a child helps to make the content relatable and accessible for middle grade readers. This book will be a useful resource for engaging readers in critically thinking about and developing a deeper understanding of this part of the history of the United States.

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an eARC to read and review.

This is an excellent alternative for educators who dislike only using textbooks to teach history. I would make sure to stress to the children that parts are nonfiction and parts are historical fiction, just so there isn't any confusion.

This book is basically two books in one. "When Life Was Our Own" is the story of a girl, Little Bird, and her family as they go throughout the year. Interspersed between this story is the history of the colonization of America and how it affected the Indigenous people. I really enjoyed this book and hope that this type of education is incorporated more into schools. Highly recommend this book for a home library!

"This book relates history that happened, but which has been omitted or erased, or is distorted and stereotyped in history books today."

"The responsibility of humans, in return, is to keep the earth as created; to keep all of Creator's systems of life working as created; to keep the balance of life."

I received an eARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Real History. True History. It Matters.

I love how the author chose to write alternating fiction and nonfiction chapters. The fiction chapters are so beautiful and paint a wonderful picture; these chapters wonderfully compliment the nonfiction chapters and make them more powerful because you have characters from the fiction chapters to connect to in the nonfiction chapters. I thought this was very creative and well done.

Although this book is marketed for children, I would say it is for older children, maybe middle school, especially if you expect them to read independently. I think my 8-year-old would do well reading this with an adult.

Colonization and the Wampanoag Story
by Linda Coombs
Pub Date 12 Sep 2023
Random House Children's,Crown Books for Young Readers
Children's Nonfiction| History| Middle Grade

Netgalley, Random House Children's, and Crown Book Readers have provided me with a copy of Colonization and the Wampanoag Story for review:


So far, you've only heard one side of the story: Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists' descriptions of the "discovery" of America. A true account of America from the perspective of its Indigenous people.



If you were asked to think about the beginning of the American story, what would you say? In 1492, three ships docked off of the Mayflower, or perhaps buckled shoes and hats stepped off. The truth is, Christopher Columbus, the Pilgrims, and the Colonists didn't arrive to an empty, vast land ready for development. Upon arriving, they found people and communities living in harmony with the land they had inhabited for thousands of years, and they disrupted everything they witnessed.



There is a carefully misrepresented history of America's earliest days, beginning with its "discovery" by Europeans, and ending with its first Thanksgiving. This is the true story of how America as we know it today began from the point of view of the Indigenous Nations in New England.


I give Colonization and the Wampanoag Story five out of five stars!


Happy Reading!

Reading this felt like reading two distinct books — one fiction, one nonfiction — which felt a bit at odds with each other. While I felt the nonfiction part was quite informative and taught me quite a bit, I felt there was a lot improvement needed for the fiction portion of the book. I think the fictional narrative deserved a bit more investment to be brought to a more complete and comprehensive narrative. Overall, I would recommend this book for elementary school aged children to learn about the Wampanoag story and begin their journey in understanding colonization.

This book was a very interesting read for me. As a classroom teacher, I love the idea of this and the whole series! We need more true history books.

This book is told in two parts. One is the fiction story. The other is history.

As I think about what grade/age this book is for I am torn. The fiction part of this story would be great for 3 -4 graders. The vocabulary is more sophisticated in the nonfiction sections. This would require an older student or more advanced reader.

This book would also be fantastic as a read aloud.

Overall, this is an important story and I would love to have it in my classroom library.

Although the style and structure of this book didn't suit me personally, I learned SO MUCH from it.

The history of the Wampanoags and colonization is told in alternating chapters: first, a dramatized day-in-the-life of a typical Wampanoag family, followed by a textbook-style chapter relating the facts and cultural impact of colonization.

While I was reading, I craved more character depth from the dramatized chapters, and less textbook formality from the traditional nonfiction chapters. So for me, an adult reader with very specific stylistic tastes, this was at times a frustrating read.

But wait! Now that I'm done and thinking less in terms of how the reading experience felt, and more in terms of the amount of knowledge I've gained, those frustrations are fading very much into the background. I may not have enjoyed reading this book, but the gains ultimately outweigh my gripes. The parallel chapters on Indigenous vs. English views and practices of education in particular gave me food for thought.

I'll be very interested to see how kids — the actual target audience — respond to the aspects that I stumbled over. Hopefully it'll be smooth sailing for them, because this book has a lot to offer.

3.5/5
This one was hard for me to rate because it's kind of all over the place. I think the non-fiction part is great. It's so important to learn about the colonization of Native Peoples and I thought that element of the book was good and informative. This book also weaves in a fictional story of youth in a Wampanoag tribe. I love the idea of mixing historical facts with a fictional story based on real events. I think it's a good way for kids to engage with history while also finding loveable and relatable characters (I was raised on the PBS show Liberty's Kids), but I personally thought the fictional story was underwhelming. Still, I can see this being a great addition to any elementary classroom!

Thanks to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

My son LOVED this book. It kept his interest and prompted him to ask questions. Highly recommend this book!!

A very important story to share with upper grade students. Should be added into every curriculum. I enjoyed learning the true story behind what happened to the indigenous people.

Very similar to the History Smashers series, this book seeks to rectify any falsities in history texts related to early colonization. It’s full of facts and will keep the reader’s attention.

I learned so much from this book that I was never taught in school. I really enjoyed the way the author weaved a fictional story into the historical account of the Wampanoag people. I think it will definitely help young readers connect with the real-life events.

Thank you to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I teach third grade in Massachusetts, and our 3rd grade social studies standards include teaching Massachusetts history. However, it can be a struggle to find resources to accurately and thoughtfully teach about what life was like pre-colonization. This book definitely fills a needed gap by providing a narrative of traditional Wampanoag life as well as critically unpacking the effects of colonialism.

The book has two parts: one is a narrative called "When Life Was Our Own" which follows the day-to-day life of tribal members. The other is informational, discussing topics such as education, laws, and the process of creating a colony. The author switches back and forth between these two threads every chapter, providing a balance. The "When Life Was Our Own" narrative helps the reader create a stronger understanding of the context for the European laws and changes that were being imposed upon the Native Americans.

Thinking about my own students (generally 8 and 9 years old), I'm not sure how many of them would access this independently - I think they would definitely benefit from reading this with an adult to help break down some of the concepts and stay engaged. I could see this working as a read aloud for my classroom or even using some of the chapters independently as a resource.

Having an Indigenous perspective that critically thinks about history is so important and one that I want to make sure I center in my teaching. I will need to think about how I'll be incorporating this, but this is a resource I'm interested in using. I'll be talking to my school librarian about getting a copy!

Another great entry in the Race to the Truth series, it had what I enjoyed from the first book I read. It had great historical elements going on and it was fun for the children nonfiction book. It left me wanting to read more in this series. Linda Coombs writes a great book and I can’t wait for more.

I love finding books that show more than just the white narrative of a story. Introducing my students to different versions of stories is how I open their eyes to history and the world. I love that this story is told both in story form and history form. It is engaging for students and adults alike. This would make a great read aloud in the classroom. Thank you #netgalley for introducing me to this book.

Wampanoag historian, Linda Coombs sets up this Race to the Truth series entry as part narrative, part expository. Interspersed through thirteen chapters, she takes the reader through a year in the Wampanoag community, describing the Wampanoag way of life starkly contrasting with the harsh insinuation of colonization into the harmonious, cyclical, oneness with nature of Native American society. The time frame covers from 1400 to 1700, detailing the Doctrine of Discovery, examining the impact of Columbus’s findings; the Pilgrims Patterns, disrupting the belief that Thanksgiving was a consensual sharing time with the Wampanoag; and Colonization, revealing the false assumptions colonial writers spread about Native peoples and the transgressions heaped upon the Wampanoag after the Great Dying. The narrative sections are homey and detailed, telling of the close family life, the reverence for everything that the earth provides, the ingenuity and knowledge of the Wampanoag society. An important purchase for all school libraries.