Books by Theme
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. Also see: Remembering and Giving Thanks.
1, 2, 3 Thanksgiving
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
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
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
In this warm holiday story, a young Puerto Rican boy saves the life of his pet turkey on Thanksgiving with help from his close-knit New York City family and neighborhood. Spanish vocabulary is woven into the text. Spanish version available.
How Many Days to America? A Thanksgiving Story
After the soldiers come, Papa tells his family that they must leave everything behind and set sail for America. The journey across the Caribbean is dangerous and long, and our narrator and his little sister keep asking — just how many days is it to America? Prolific children's author Eve Bunting, herself an immigrant from Ireland, shares the story of a new generation of pilgrims who are willing to risk their lives to look for freedom in America.
It's Thanksgiving
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
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
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
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
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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