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Ten Books for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is about more than the turkey! Here are ten recommended books for kids ages 0-9 that celebrate sharing, community, and family. Read these stories to the children in your life to help them see what the spirit of Thanksgiving is really all about.

1, 2, 3 Thanksgiving
1, 2, 3 Thanksgiving
By: W. Nikola-Lisa
Illustrated by: Robin Kramer
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

This counting book leads children through Papa's one fat turkey, Mama's two pumpkin pies, and so on as the family sits down to a Thanksgiving feast.

A Turkey for Thanksgiving
A Turkey for Thanksgiving
By: Eve Bunting
Illustrated by: Diane De Groat
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

Mr. and Mrs. Moose invite all their animal friends for Thanksgiving dinner. The only one missing is Turkey. They set out to find him, not realizing that Turkey is quaking with fear because he thinks his hosts want him on their table, not at it.

Fat Chance Thanksgiving
Fat Chance Thanksgiving
By: Patricia Lakin
Illustrated by: Stacey Schuett
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Carla's book about the first Thanksgiving survives the fire that destroys her apartment. When she and her mother move in to their new building, Carla is determined to bring the residents together in a Thanksgiving no one will ever forget.

Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey
Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey
By: Joy Cowley
Illustrated by: Joe Cepeda
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

In this warm holiday story, a young Puerto Rican boy saves the life of his pet turkey with help from his close-knit New York City family and neighborhood. Beginning Spanish vocabulary is woven into the text.

How Many Days to America?: A Thanksgiving Story
How Many Days to America?: A Thanksgiving Story
By: Eve Bunting
Illustrated by: Beth Peck
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Refugees from a Caribbean island embark on a dangerous boat trip to America where they have a special reason to celebrate Thanksgiving.

It's Thanksgiving
It's Thanksgiving
By: Jack Prelutsky
Illustrated by: Marylin Hafner
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

This anthology by well-loved children's poet Jack Prelutsky includes twelve sprightly poems about Thanksgiving, including When Daddy Carves the Turkey, I Ate Too Much, and If Turkeys Thought.

Molly's Pilgrim
Molly's Pilgrim
By: Barbara Cohen
Illustrated by: Daniel M. Duffy
Age Level: 6-9
Reading Level: Independent Reader

Sparkling new illustrations refresh this Thanksgiving classic based on the true experience of a member of Barbara Cohen's family. The touching story tells how recent immigrant Molly leads her third-grade class to discover that it takes all kinds of pilgrims to make a Thanksgiving.

Thanksgiving at the Tappleton's
Thanksgiving at the Tappleton's
By: Eileen Spinelli
Illustrated by: Judith Stuller Hannant
Age Level: 0-3
Reading Level: Pre-Reader

All the relatives arrive for an enormous Thanksgiving dinner. But this year nothing seems to go right. First the turkey slides down the icy hill and into the pond -- plop! splash! Then the bakery sells out of pies. It looks like it's going to be a pretty bleak holiday...until Grandmother reminds everyone that there's more to Thanksgiving than a turkey and trimmings.

The Squirrel's Thanksgiving
The Squirrel's Thanksgiving
By: Steven Kroll
Illustrated by: Jeni Bassett
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

Papa Squirrel says Buddy and Brenda should be grateful for friends and family at Thanksgiving. But these squirrel siblings just can't get along.

The Story of Thanksgiving
The Story of Thanksgiving
By: Nancy Skarmeas
Illustrated by: Stacy Venturi-Pickett
Age Level: 3-6
Reading Level: Beginning Reader

This book tells the story of the first Thanksgiving - how the pilgrims came to America on the Mayflower in search of religious freedom, how they landed at Plymouth Rock, and how the Native Americans taught them to plant and then joined them in a Thanksgiving feast. Parents can use the simple text and the bright illustrations of this book to introduce a very young child to this holiday.

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