James Towne: Struggle for Survival

James Towne: Struggle for Survival

written and illustrated by Marcia Sewall, 2001, New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. (978-0-689-81814-1).

Author/ illustrator website: no author website

Media: watercolor and Sepia ink 

Awards and Honors: CBC/NCSS Notable Social Studies Trade Book, Parents' Choice Award
 

Annotation:
Sewall provides a narrative account of the establishment of Jamestown, Virginia, including John Smith’s role in the colony’s development and the difficult early years of life in the new world.

Personal Reaction:
     Sewall engages and educates readers with this detailed account of the difficulty of James Towne’s establishment and early years, experienced through diary-like entries of one of the colony’s settlers.  Dated accounts before and after entries keep the story on track and the pacing steady while the narrator’s personal reflections (that lean more towards truth than fiction), lend credit and personality to historic events.  Each entry is followed by a quote from an actual James Towne’s colonist—from many different colonists—providing context to the events described and putting a human face (and feeling) to the story.   
     Sewall’s illustrations almost seem as if the narrator himself could have created them, binding the story’s text to the visual representation in a way that opulent or overly detailed illustrations could not have:  the style is realistic in that the scenes pictured are non-fantastical and are representative of historic truth, not the narrator’s interpretation of them (which Sewall brilliantly manages to maintain throughout the entire story while still lending the narrator a separate and distinct personality).  Yet the ink and watercolor media combination present the illustrations as something the narrator or a fellow colonist could have created in their own observations of the development of James Towne: the media style is merged with the story, not depleting the text but deepening the reader’s personal connection to the narrator which the diary-like writing style began.
     The story starts with James Towne’s own beginnings as an idea formed in England: three ships depart the country, after which the journey to the Americas and its hardships are documented, and then the founding and building of the colony is explored.  Sewall looks at aspects of early colonial life that are generally overlooked by school books and for which this story could easily supplement the curriculum:  hardships beyond interacting with the natives and the new land, such as the people England continued to send over to live in the colony despite James Towne’s struggle to care for its current inhabitants, and the reliance these colonists continued to have on their home country despite having lived in the new world for several years.  Life after John Smith is also highlighted, and how the colony almost (literally) died out.  Sewall provides a list of the story’s characters at the book’s end and a glossary of terms.  The need for both of these demonstrates this book’s reliance on historical fact and how Sewall attempted to have readers experience James Towne as the settlers did—with the words of those around them and the language of the times.  Further source material is offered which would enrich continued lessons or focus on the subject for any classroom.      

Use of Repetition:
The book is presented in a diary-like fashion, with descriptions of the arrival and founding of James Towne and offering a specific date listed before or after an entry by the narrating carpenter.  This continual record keeps the story on track and a steady pace through the colony’s development.  The quotes featured on each page from actual James Towne residents (including Captain John Smith), put faces and feelings to this historic account and constantly remind readers of the reality of this time.

Curricular Connection: California History / Social Science, Grade 5, California Standard: 5.4: Students learn about the major individuals and groups responsible for the founding of the James Towne colony (such as John, Smith), understand the influence of location and physical setting of the colony, and be able to identify the location of the colony and the American Indian tribes inhabiting the area.