Stories of the Mayflower
Written by children for children
The book tells the story of the historical background of the Separatists, the Mayflower journey and the first year in America told from different points of view and in different formats; diaries, letters, recipes and accounts and is aimed at children from 8yrs to 12yrs.
The book is now AVAILABLE ONLINE and will be in local bookshops and our Visitor Centre once restrictions allow.
Around four years ago Sally Wally was reading an Arts Society magazine giving details of a schools’ book project which had taken place in Budleigh Salterton. She was struck by how well their idea could translate into a Dartmouth Mayflower 400 project. So Sally approached Lindsay Ellwood, the Education Project Lead, to discuss the idea. Claire Humpage joined the team, and they put together a plan to create a children’s book.
The team were fortunate to gain the support of the Dartmouth and Kingswear Arts Society, who were very interested in boosting the creative potential of local children.
They then approached local schools; the teachers were interested in the educational potential of the project and also in the positive impact of being actively involved in an important local event that commemorated our shared history – and so the collaboration began.
In early September 2019, Katy Cawkwell – a talented storyteller – performed The Mayflower Story to over seventy pupils, and this provided an inspirational starting point for the children’s writing and illustrations. With this knowledge, the year five and six children from Dartmouth Academy, Kingswear School, Blackawton School and Stoke Fleming School went on to produce all the text and illustrations with the support of their teachers.
Jack Viant, a recent graduate of Plymouth College of Art, designed the book and prepared it for print.
Lindsay Ellwood, Education Project Lead for Dartmouth Mayflower 400 said,
“This has been a fantastic educational project. It’s clear to see from the quality of the writing and illustrations that the children have really engaged with the story of the Mayflower’s journey. It will be wonderful for them to see their work in print.”
