A review by hereisenough
How Many Days to America?: A Thanksgiving Story by Eve Bunting

2.0

How Many Days Until America? is about a Caribbean family who escapes soldiers and travels to America by boat. The story begins when the main character, a little boy, is hiding under the bed with his sister. After the soldiers leave their home, the family flees to the crowded dock, where a fishing boat takes them to America. The way is difficult, as the boat breaks, people become sick, and thieves take all the group has. However, the people make it to America on Thanksgiving, where they are likened to the Pilgrims.
Personally, I felt like this book was missing a lot. Perhaps that is just me as an older reader? There was very little explanation for anything that happened, not even a mention that the story took place in the Caribbean. It felt vague, however, perhaps that is exactly how the little boy felt. I think if more details were provided, one could be more touched and have more appreciation for the story. The author was an outsider, which is perhaps why some of this happened? I did appreciate the way that they were likened to the Pilgrims because our more modern day Pilgrims need to be recognized as well. The culture was not very much a part of the story, however I liked that the people were depicted as pretty normal, instead of “lesser” than us. This is probably because the story was about the journey of leaving their home