Thanksgiving Books for Children

I can't believe that we are only a three weeks from Thanksgiving. I wanted to make sure you have a chance to review and choose some books to share with your children as you prepare for this holiday. Providing background information about what will happen on Thanksgiving Day helps your child know what to expect on this day. Involve your child in preparing for or on Thanksgiving day by assigning a "job" that helps in getting ready.

When thinking about providing children with background information about Thanksgiving, I have divided it into 3 categories : Family Celebration, Historical and Thanksgiving Fun. The above books are ones to read to expose children to getting ready for Thanksgiving Day. The texts describe the excitement of preparing different foods, different family members who participate and the concept of thankful. Thankfulness is an abstract concept for children but the books "Feeling Thankful" and "Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks" describe child activities to match this word and make sense to children.

These books provide information about the Mayflower voyage and Pilgrim life that help young children begin to grasp Thanksgiving's historical beginning. The picture books are impressive and sure to bring about lots of questions and time for talking about life in those times. A visit to Plymouth Plantation in Massachusetts with your family is something to put on the to do list.

These last two books are entertaining - "One Little, Two Little, Three Little Pilgrims" depicts life of the Wampanoag Indians and the other is a knock, knock book sure to bring laughs!