Best Children's Books About Thanksgiving

This Thanksgiving book for 8-12 year olds provides an accurate account of Thanksgiving in 1621. It was written in collaboration with Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum. 1621, A New Look at Thanksgiving is illustrated with photographs of museum reenactments. The text and photographs present the Thanksgiving story from the viewpoints of both the English colonists and the Wampanoag people. (National Geographic, 2001. ISBN: 0792270274) Read my review of 1621, A New Look at Thanksgiving.

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Reeve Lindbergh's book In Every Tiny Grain of Sand is subtitled A Child's Book of Prayers and Praise. In Every Tiny Grain of Sand is divided into four sections: For the Day, For the Home, For the Earth, and For the Night, each with a different illustrator. The selections are from a variety of authors, cultures, and religions. The illustrations are wonderful and the selections a delight. While not a children's Thanksgiving book, it certainly emphasizes giving thanks and is a book to be enjoyed by all ages. (Candlewick Press, 2000. ISBN: 0763601764) Read my review of In Every Tiny Grain of Sand.

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Artist JoAnn Adinolfi used colored pencil and collage to create a colorful accompaniment to the rhyming text of Eileen Spinelli in The Perfect Thanksgiving, a delightful picture book. The story and illustrations are full of humor, with an important underlying message. A girl compares a "perfect" neighbor family's "perfect Thanksgiving" with her own imperfect family's "less-than-perfect Thanksgiving." Despite the marked differences, she realizes the two families are also alike: "alike in just how loving our different families are." This is a good book for a family to enjoy as a read aloud. (Square Fish, 2007. ISBN: 9780312375058)

The picture book Ankle Soup by Maureen Sullivan provides a whole new perspective on Thanksgiving - a dog's ankle-high view of Thanksgiving Day in New York City. Through Sullivan's story in rhyme and Allison Josephs' joyous and richly hued paintings, you'll join Carlos the French Bulldog on a cab ride through the city, past Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade, to Grand Central Station. There, Carlos sees people happily greeting one another, from a young couple to triplets and their grandmother. He also sees acts of kindness, like a "kindly gent" giving money to a man in need. Carlos reminds readers, "Please try to see things/from my point of view./ Your ankles are nice but.../ you're more than a shoe." This book is also an enjoyable family read aloud. (MoJo Inkworks, 2008. ISBN: 9780982038109)

Joy Cowley’s Thanksgiving picture book is illustrated with colorful oil paintings by Joe Cepeda. A young Hispanic boy, Miquel, lives with his grandparents in a city apartment. His father sends him a turkey to fatten up for the holiday. Instead, the bird becomes Miquel's pet. Its life is spared when it is unexpectedly blessed by the priest. Gracias The Thanksgiving Turkey is an engaging story that will appeal to children 4 to 8. (Scholastic paperbacks, 2005. ISBN: 9780439769877)

In Thanks for Thanksgiving, a joyful and and humorous Thanksgiving picture book, a youbg boy and girl celebrate and give thanks for the love of family and friends. Doris Barrette'd detailed and funny illustrations complement the rhyming text by Julie Markes. Each double page contains one sentence and an illustration, generally one crowded with family members, toys, pets, and more. The last page of Thanks for Thanksgiving is blank except for the heading: "A place to write our thankful thoughts, year after year." I recommend it for ages 3-6. (HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN: 9780060510961)