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Product Description Myths! Lies! Secrets! Smash the stories behind famous moments in history and expose the hidden truth. Perfect for fans of I Survived and Nathan Hale's Hazardous Tales. In 1620, the Pilgrims landed at Plymouth Rock and made friends with Wampanoag people who gave them corn. RIGHT? WRONG! It was months before the Pilgrims met any Wampanoag people, and nobody gave anybody corn that day. Did you know that the pilgrims didn't go straight from England to Plymouth? No, they made a stop along the way--and almost stayed forever! Did you know there was a second ship, called the Speedwell, that was too leaky to make the trip? No joke. And just wait until you learn the truth about Plymouth Rock. Through illustrations, graphic panels, photographs, sidebars, and more, acclaimed author Kate Messner smashes history by exploring the little-known details behind the legends of the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving. "Kate Messner serves up fun, fast history for kids who want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Absolutely smashing!" --Candace Fleming, award-winning author Don't miss History Smashers: Women's Right to Vote! Review Praise for the History Smashers series: "Critical, respectful, engaging: exemplary history for children." — Kirkus Reviews, starred review "The book’s format may be a good match for those with shorter attention spans, and permits it to be gratifyingly capacious in what it covers." — The New York Times Book Review "Well-researched, entertaining, and packed with facts." — Booklist“Messner and Meconis provide a timely perspective on an important part of American history.” —School Library Journal "A history book for middle-graders that should be on everyone's (child and adult) to-read list." — Shelf Awareness "Kate Messner serves up fun, fast history for kids who want the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Absolutely smashing!" —Candace Fleming, award-winning author "Informative and fun, eye-opening and entertaining. I wish I could have read History Smashers when I was in elementary school. I would have devoured them and developed a big appetite for even more of this sort of truth-telling." —Chris Barton, award-winning author About the Author KATE MESSNER is passionately curious and writes books that encourage kids to wonder, too. Her titles include award-winning picture books, like Over and Under the Snow; novels, like Breakout and Chirp; the Fergus and Zeke easy reader series, and the popular Ranger in Time chapter books, and works of nonfiction with a focus on nature and history. Before becoming a full time writer, Kate was a TV journalist and National Board certified middle school English teacher. She lives on Lake Champlain with her family and is trying to summit all 46 Adirondack High Peaks in between book deadlines. Visit katemessner.com and Facebook: Kate Messner for more information and follow her on Twitter @katemessner. Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. one Who Were the Pilgrims, Anyway? If April showers bring May flowers, what do May flowers bring? The answer to the riddle, of course, is Pilgrims. The joke works because almost everyone knows a little about the Pilgrims. We’ve heard how they left England and came to America in search of religious freedom. But that’s not even close to the whole story. For starters, the Pilgrims didn’t go to America when they left England. Not at first, anyway. The real-deal story of the Mayflower begins way back in the 1530s, when King Henry VIII made some big changes to religion in England. King Henry wanted a son who could grow up to be the king of England, too. He and his first wife only had a daughter, though. Henry decided the solution was to get divorced and marry someone else, with whom he might have a son. But the Roman Catholic Church was the official church in England then, and it did not allow divorce. King Henry went all the way to the pope, the leader of t