I love using children’s books to help my children understand events that are happening in our lives. I collected my top ten favorites to help enhance your child’s reading experience this Thanksgiving.
10. Arthur’s Thanksgiving by Marc Brown
As always, Arthur will have your children giggling as he tries to overcome his fear of ruining the school’s Thanksgiving play. It has a great message of family togetherness.
9. Pilgrim Cat by Carol Antoinette Peacock
In this story, we follow main character, Faith, and Pounce, the cat, as they sail on the Mayflower together. This book gives a fairly realistic view of what the Pilgrims faced on board the ship: spoiled food, illness and terrible weather. It also explores life among the Wampanoag tribe as Squanto teaches the settlers how to successfully live in the New World.
8. Thanksgiving by Alice K. Falanagan
This book is split into mini-chapters and briefly covers information from the first settlers to how we now celebrate Thanksgiving.
7. Splat Says Thank You! by Rob Scotton
Splat, the adorable cat, is trying to cheer up his friend, Seymour, the mouse, because Seymour is sick. This is a great way to teach your child how to be thankful and express it to others.
6. Setting the Turkeys Free by W.Nikola-Lisa
This is a great book for the youngest of children. The fun illustrations will certainly hold even the squirmiest little ones in their seats. The narrator of the story takes us on a journey of watching him create his Thanksgiving artwork and we watch what he does when Foxy the Fox comes onto the scene.
5. The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin by Stan & Jan Berestain
This is a family favorite and we read it often, not just at Thanksgiving. Papa, Brother and Sister Bear all learn a lesson on what Thanksgiving is all about.
4. Saying Grace by Virginia Kroll
Travel back to the pioneer days with Grace as she completes chores and helps her family prepare for their first Thanksgiving. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful!
3. Over the River by Derek Anderson
This book is hilarious! We watch as the Turkey Family goes “over the river and through the woods” to the Gobbler’s house. Bonus: you can sing the tune instead of reading it, which will help keep little ones’ attention focused on the book.
2. The Firefighters’ Thanksgiving by Maribeth Boelts
Oh boy, this one really hits you square in the heart. The fire fighters in this story are trying to fix a Thanksgiving dinner but are continually interrupted by emergencies. It’s a great reminder that not everyone gets to be home with their family on holidays. This will definitely be in my permanent Thanksgiving book collection.
1. Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson
This is a great book that explains how Thanksgiving came to be a national holiday. It’s very interesting, educational and humorous. Absolutely a new favorite for Thanksgiving reading!
Our library has all of these books. Just remember that you can only check them out for one week at a time, since it’s a holiday book. Happy Thanksgiving!
About Meghan Zeile