Elizabeth and her parents left England to come live in America and her brother stayed in England. It was about a girl named Elizabeth, her mom, dad, and brother. The name of my book is Our Strange New Land. There are historical notes at the end of the book but I don't know how accurate they are. These reviews are useful in selecting for reading levels but I would have appreciated a bit more information on the accuracy of the stories. School Library Journal 08/01/00 says much the same remarking it is a quick and easy read and rating it for 3-5th graders. Publishers Weekly (May 27, 2002) Mentions this is one of an ongoing series and suggests this book is appropriate for 3rd-6th graders. I would use it as an independent read for the 5th grade unit on migration. I would use this books as a 2nd grade read aloud for their Native American unit making sure students had plenty of time to discuss how they would feel if strangers came to their town and stole their food and enslaved their family members. The tension between settlers and Native Americans is well portrayed and the author lets us see both sides of that conflict as well as feel the pain and fear of remaining family members as settlers die from disease. It tells a compelling and believable story about life in the Jamestown colony from the viewpoint of 9 year old Elizabeth.

This short book is part of an historical series written for 3rd-6th graders.

Our strange new land by patricia hermes