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Top 15 Thanksgiving books to read to, with, and beside your grandchildren
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What will your grandchildren remember you for? The gifts you bought them? Probably not. But what about the times you were really there for them – schlepping to school, cheering at a game, kissing a boo-boo, baking cookies, reading stories, inadvertently teaching life lessons -- the special “together” moments -- the moments that may not have cost a penny, but are etched in their memories?
One of the greatest gifts any parent or grandparent can give a child is the love of reading -- by exposing them to fantasy, magic, and humor, history and adventure, worlds near and far – the best kind of entertainment that can only be found between the covers of a book. Reading to, with, and beside your grandchildren doesn’t only help build language skills, it also creates a closer bond and can provide motivation to read, according to the National Children’s Reading Foundation.
Children learn by imitating. As a grandparent, you are in a unique position to set an example and make reading fun, because your only agenda is loving your grandchildren and spending quality time with them. Unlike adults in formal environments like school, daycare, or the library, you’re not bound to a curriculum and there will be no test. It’s simply reading for pleasure – yours and theirs. Kids can learn to associate reading with the pleasant memory of spending time with a person they love and trust, and learn to love reading.
The month of November is the perfect time to create wonderful Thanksgiving family memories by sharing a wide variety of stories, from giving thanks to historical "pictures" of the first Thanksgiving, the hardship of the first settlers, the interaction between the Pilgrims and the Native Americans who helped them adjust to the new world, the traditions, and the symbolic foods we eat -- to stories that are just plain fun.
Because there are so many more than my 10 faves, here are the:
Top 15 Thanksgiving books to share with your kids/grandkids (up to age 9)
1. 10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston and Richard F. Deas (Illustrator). Remember “5 Little Monkeys”? This is a similarly silly rhyming story about 10 fat turkeys who fly off the fence, one at a time, each in a uniquely funny fashion. Little ones will be sing-songing along and giggling in no time.
2. Amelia Bedelia Talks Turkey by Herman Parish, Lynn Sweat (Illustrator). Kids of all ages are familiar with this beloved character, whose hilarious antics never cease to deliver fun, and this one’s no exception. Amelia Bedelia is put in charge of the Thanksgiving play, confuses the “dressing room” with a place to stuff a turkey, and a slew of other outrageous activities that literally bring the house down. In great form, Amelia Bedelia is sure to elicit giggles by the cornucopia full.
3. Ankle Soup by Maureen Sullivan and Alison Josephs (Illustrator). A great rhyming picture book, this tells the story of Thanksgiving from a whole new perspective – a dog’s ankle-view of Thanksgiving Day in New York City. Lots of great NYC imagery and fun.
4. Giving Thanks: A Native American Good Morning Message by Jake Swamp and Erwin, Jr. Printup (Illustrator). Simple and beautiful, this book is about gratitude and the wonder of Thanksgiving, suitable for the whole family. Its Native American author, Chief Jake Swamp, translated the text of this picture book from the traditional Mohawk Thanksgiving Address, an ancient message of peace and appreciation of Mother Earth and all her inhabitants.
5. I Know An Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie by Alison Jackson and Judith Byron Schachner (illustrator). “I know an old lady who swallowed a pie, a Thanksgiving pie, which was really too dry.” Told in the same vain as the rhyme about the old lady who swallowed a spider, this is another hilarious story, but this one’s about a lady who comes to Thanksgiving dinner and eats everything in sight. Outrageously funny and silly, the kids will beg for seconds…and thirds…
6. If You Sailed on the Mayflower in 1620 by Ann McGovern and Anna DiVito (Illustrator). The question and answer format presents facts beautifully about why the Pilgrims left England, their journey on the Mayflower, and the hardships they endured in their first year in America.
7. If You Were At The First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma and Bert Dodson (Illustrator). “Your parents slept on top and you slept in the "trundle" bed hidden underneath.” From how it all began and why the Pilgrims came to America to who Squanto was, what the Pilgrims grew besides corn and how the children helped, this book tells older children all about the celebration that started the holiday and what it was like to live in America in the 1620’s.
8. Over the River and Through the Wood: A Thanksgiving Poem by Lydia Marie Child and Christopher Manson (Illustrator). Yes, it’s one and the same familiar classic poem: “Over the river and through the woods, To Grandmother’s house we go…” This is a wonderful book the little ones can sing along to. The whimsical illustrations detail the crazy, overstuffed car ride, and the baby of the family escapes into a Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, where characters, floats, and balloons take on a life of their own. Pure joy.
9. Peanut-Butter Pilgrims by Judy Delton and, Alan Tiegreen (Illustrator). Among some of the other projects in which the Pee Wee Scouts participate, including a Thanksgiving play, they head for a turkey farm. The kids all feel sorry for the birds and after bonding with them, refuse to eat turkey and opt instead for peanut butter for Thanksgiving. One of the kids even treats a turkey as if it were a pet dog. This chapter-book is a great story for older kids (6 to 9) and keeps them laughing and turning the pag"
10. Pilgrim's First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern and Elroy Freem (Illustrator). "The Mayflower was as big as two trucks/But it was not enough/. . . The children had no room to run around/They had no toys." Factual observations made in simple language makes it easy for young children (pre-school through elementary) to understand and relate to the struggles of the Pilgrims during their first year in the new world, leading up to the first Thanksgiving.
11. Squanto And The Miracle Of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas and Shannon Sternweis (Illustrator). This is an excellent, factual book for teaching older children the history of the first Thanksgiving. It’s an inspiring story of a Native American boy, kidnapped and taken across the ocean as a slave, purchased by monks who took pity on him, and returned ten years later to his village, which had been wiped out by plague, and of his interactions with and and forgiveness of Pilgrims.
12. Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Markes and Doris Barrette (Illustrator). This book is excellent in helping kids discover their own unique things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving Day by expressing gratitude for what means most to them--a hug and warm, cozy cuddles. All of life's daily pleasures, big or small, are a reason to give thanks on Thanksgiving. The last page is blank with the exception of a place to write your thankful thoughts.
13. Thanksgiving Rules by Laurie Friedman and Teresa Murfin (Illustrator). Ten delicious rules, from “the early bird gets the turkey” to “life is sweeter when you eat sweets”, to help eat your way through Thanksgiving dinner and in the mean time, discover the true recipe for a perfect Thanksgiving. Suitable for ages 5 through 9, this is one of those fun, feel-good books.
14.The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing and Tammie Lyon (Illustrator). A great way to get into the spirit of Thanksgiving, this book parallels the rhyme scheme of Clement C. Moore’s classic “Night Before Christmas”. Children can relate to the family of this story and enjoy sharing the traditions of a typical, warm and loving Thanksgiving experience.
15.Thelonius Turkey Lives! by Lynn Rowe Reed (writer and illustrator). Pure silliness, this laugh-out-loud book is sure to delight any 4 to 8 year old with the mischievous antics of Thelonius Turkey, who fears that farmer Ferguson plans to eat him for Thanksgiving.
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