To honor Thanksgiving in two days, my picture book of the week is the one above. I just love it!

This book is so wonderful because it tells the Thanksgiving story in a way you probably haven’t heard already, that from the perspective of John Howland. John was on the Mayflower as an indentured servant to William Carver. Some little things happened on the voyage, that in total, count as good fortune, or a miracle in my book, to get him to America.

First is the fact that the Pilgrims had an extra screw so they could fix the broken beam on their ship on the voyage. Next was the fact that when John was tossed overboard by a huge wave, and almost drowned, some other people happened to be on the deck who saw it happen. So, they threw a rope overboard so he could grab it. See the book cover image above with him submerged. As John was underwater, drowning, he felt like giving in to the overwhelming desire to close his eyes and fall asleep. That meant death. See video below.

Fortunately, John heard a voice, sounding like his mother’s, to stay awake and not give in to sleep. Just as he opened his eyes, lightning struck over the water above his head. That flash of lightning allowed him to see the rope that his friends had thrown overboard. He was able to see it well enough to grab it and be pulled overboard. How positively providential! as Rachel Lynde of Anne of Green Gables would say.

President M. Russell Ballard gave a talk about this very incident that I love. You can go here to watch it. The John Howland incident is mentioned at about the 7:25 mark.

This book has lovely illustrations, a great storyline, and best of all it’s true! It’s also a great springboard for a discussion of “How have you seen the hand of God in your life?” or “What events have happened in your life that involve synchronicity?” Synchronicity is when things occur close together, that are meaningfully related, but have no apparent causal connection. Watch this interesting video below where RFK Jr. tells his story of synchronicity. I always attribute the relation of the events to God.

I’m going to read this for our Morning Basket time in our homeschooling tomorrow. Then I’ll use that question I just mentioned to spark discussion. Here’s one of my answers to the question I just mentioned, which I’ll share tomorrow. OK, so when this month of November started, I told myself that on my thrifting trips this month I wanted to find a long comfy white nubby cardigan sweater (I have a short one, but I wanted one lone enough to cover my bum), a long comfy beige sweater, and some black boots to replace the ones I gave away last year. Guess what? I found all three desired things at thrift stores this month!

Here’s a video that shows some of the book’s illustrations and storyline.

This video below with the same guy as above, at the 15:07 mark, shares more about John Howland and the family/group he came with.

Finally, here’s P.J. Lynch telling the backstory of creating this book. Did you know that he’s illustrated over 30 books (like The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey, one of my absolute favorites of my Christmas picture books list here), but The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower is the first book he’s authored AND illustrated? It’s because he was so fascinated with the life of John Howland. John married fellow Pilgrim Elizabeth Tilley, and they went on to have 10 children. Today, about 10 millions of their descendants are alive, including me! I’m so grateful for this man and God preserving his life. Hear the story below.