“What if today, we were just grateful for everything?”
– Charlie Brown
This was the first year that I scoured the library shelves for some good Thanksgiving stories, in order to help our family celebrate this particular holiday through literature. I’ve always focused on fun Halloween books, and then jumped right over into our always-favorite Christmas stories. I learned this year, however, that by skipping over the Thanksgiving stories the past two years, that I’ve missed a valuable opportunity to teach my daughter the importance of not only giving to others, but also being thankful for what we have. A lesson about grace and gratitude…two qualities that I hope she will carry with her throughout her entire life.
And without further ado…here are the Thanksgiving books that we’ve enjoyed reading this year!
Our Favorite Thanksgiving Books (2017)
**Note: The below list contains Amazon Affiliate links for convenience. See Disclosure Policy for more details.**
- Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon
- We love Salina Yoon’s penguin books (as stated in Our Favorite Book Series post), so we figured we would snag this fun little board book from the library for our November reading. My little nugget loves counting the silly turkeys on each page, as they all make their way to their Thanksgiving feast (and no…they are not the main course). π
- Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
- This amusing and clever story follows an anxious turkey around the farm, as he tries desperately to disguise himself, in an effort to avoid being eaten for Thanksgiving dinner. His constant racing around the farm, also inspired our Turkey Tracks painting craft, that we shared on our Instagram account last week!
- Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson and Jane Chapman
- Bear is another one of our recurring favorites (see Our Favorite Book Series post). You can never go wrong with a book that highlights good manners. My little nugget loves bellowing out a nice big “Thanks!” as each of Bear’s friends arrives with some food for their big feast.
- The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks by Jan and Mike Berenstain
- The Berenstain Bears books always make me nostalgic, because I remember reading them when I was a little girl. Did you read them as a child too? Our favorite part of this story is when Sister and Brother write and produce their very own Thanksgiving play, for the entire family to enjoy.
- Thanksgiving Is for Giving Thanks by Margaret Sutherland
- This book is a wonderful way to teach your little ones about being thankful. When we were working on our Thankful Turkey Centerpiece, I used this book as an example (and a little bit of inspiration) when I asked my daughter to share all of the things that she was thankful for…or all of the things that make her feel happy.
- Pete the Cat: The First Thanksgiving by Kimberly and James Dean
- We can never escape the library without a Pete the Cat book (surprise…he also makes an appearance in Our Favorite Book Series post), so luckily this interactive lift-the-flap book was available. Follow along as every child’s favorite cat performs in a school play about the first Thanksgiving.
- Little Critter: Just a Special Thanksgiving by Mercer Mayer
- I also have fond memories of reading the Little Critter books when I was young. Things are very busy in the Critter household as they make their way to the school play, the Thanksgiving Day Parade, the grocery store, and finally…to the community center where everyone gathered to share a big community Thanksgiving dinner!
Do your little ones have any favorite Thanksgiving books that they love to read each year? If so, please feel free to share them in the comments below.
Happy Thanksgiving!
