Thanksgiving Children's Book Recommendations and Reviews

In preparation for Thanksgiving lesson plans, I pulled out Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey and then searched the web for some appropriate children's books.

I bought five new books, which are listed below. When I began my search I wanted books in several categories. I wanted a child appropriate, historically accurate retelling of the Pilgrim story, a true-to-history (NOT politically correct) account of the Indian involvement with the Pilgrims, and books describing different types of family Thanksgiving celebrations.

The following books are what I ended up buying. If you click on the cover pictures you will be taken to bookstore websites. If you click on the title under the picture you will be taken to my review of the individual book.

Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember by Barbara Rainey

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas

The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern

The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dalgliesh

Mary's First Thanksgiving by Kathy-jo Wargin

Give Thanks to the Lord by Karma Wilson

Kid's Picks: The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain

We are currently reading The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain. And by "we" I mean my husband is reading it aloud to my five-year-old son, William, and the rest of us occasionally listen.

I asked Will if he likes reading the book with Daddy. "Yes." What do you like about it? "The good guys win." I'm not sure what prompted that response but I know he's begging to read the book every night after supper. That's always a good sign of an excellent book!

Just a word of caution that this book contains some language and themes (smoking!) that may not be suitable for young children. Joel mentioned to me that he's doing quite a bit of editing as he is reading, mainly for language, I think. It's a judgment call for parents to make.

William definitely does not understand everything in this book and has asked many questions as a result. We've had some good conversations about how Tom's actions are disobedient or how he isn't doing the "right" thing and what would be the "right" thing to do. We are comfortable with these kind of discussions at his age.

What about you? What classic characters have you introduced your children to?

Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember Book Review

If you can only buy one book in November, Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember is the one to buy! Barbara Rainey, wife of FamilyLife founder, Dennis Rainey, does a fantastic job informing readers of the history of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving celebrations.

She begins by explaining the origins of the Pilgrims and why they are leaving England. Then she recounts the voyage to the New World, the first winter in New England, and the first Thanksgiving celebration. Also included is a description of the role Native Americans (Squanto, Samoset, and Massasoit) played in the survival of the Pilgrims.

As a mom of young children (5 years and under) I appreciate the way Mrs. Rainey separated the story into two versions - grown-up and child. This is accomplished through two different sizes of type. "The larger-type sections contain the essence of the Pilgrim story and the parts that would be most interesting to younger children." Just reading the large type should take about 30 minutes, but I recommend dividing the sections and reading it all aloud as a family.

Another feature of this book is an included CD of Thanksgiving instrumental music. As you prepare your heart and home for Thanksgiving while listening to this CD you will recognize familiar hymns and choruses.

While not exactly a "tips" and "activities" book, Thanksgiving: A Time to Remember gives you several ideas for family traditions, as well as stimulating curiosity to learn more about the Pilgrims.

For more activity ideas be sure to read my Thanksgiving Lesson Plans here or the "pretty" jpg version here.