The Thanksgiving Story

Alice Dalgliesh

Giles, Constance, and Damaris Hopkins anticipate a “great adventure” as their family boards the Mayflower headed for the New World. At sea, they experience hunger and crowding. They also welcome a baby brother and anticipate Virginia’s sunshine. But the ship lands in Massachusetts as the weather turns cold, and they face hunger, sickness, and Indian attacks. Their family survives with the aid of friendly Indians. The Pilgrims celebrate a bountiful first harvest by inviting the Indians to a Thanksgiving feast, acknowledging that God makes the trees, corn, and fruit grow. Colorful etching and Dalgliesh’s simple storytelling give this 1954 Caldecott Honor book a timeless quality. (Ages 5-8)

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving

Eric Metaxas

Slave traders kidnap 12-year-old Squanto and take him to Spain, where monks purchase him. They treat him kindly, teaching him their language and faith. Ten years later, a London merchant helps Squanto return to North America, where he finds his Patuxet tribe wiped out by sickness. Squanto befriends the Pilgrims, teaching them to farm and fish, which helps them survive. At the first Thanksgiving, Gov. William Bradford likens Squanto to the Biblical Joseph. Children will appreciate this parallel and the rich illustrations that bring this little-known story to life. (Ages 6-9)

Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy’s Parade

Melissa Sweet

Tony Sarg got his start at age 6 making marionettes and a contraption that let him feed the chickens from his bedroom. Later, Sarg’s marionettes gained attention in New York City, and Macy’s hired him to design a “puppet parade” for its holiday window displays. In 1924, Sarg helped stage the department store’s first Thanksgiving Day parade and became the mastermind behind its innovative helium balloons. Sweet’s picture biography combines whimsical writing with watercolor images, photo collages, and imagined sketches—a read-aloud feast for art and tinkering types and for those whose family Thanksgiving tradition includes watching the Macy’s parade. (Ages 4-8)

Thank you, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

Laurie Halse Anderson

Sarah Hale is a Thanksgiving heroine few children have heard of. A widowed mother of five, she wrote poems, books, articles, and letters, campaigning against slavery and for historical monuments, girls’ schools, and playgrounds. Beginning in 1846, she began a campaign for a national Thanksgiving holiday, spending 17 years writing letters to presidents and politicians until she finally reached President Abraham Lincoln’s listening ear. In 1863 he declared Thanksgiving a national holiday—a unification point during the Civil War. The book’s snappy tone and exaggerated illustrations add humor, while its afterword provides interesting facts. (Ages 5-10)

AFTERWORD

Beginning in December, family Advent readings and activities can play an important role in helping children anticipate the annual celebration of Christ’s birth.

Ann Voskamp’s best-selling Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas (Tyndale House, 2014) uses a Jesse Tree to trace Christ’s lineage from the Old Testament to His birth. Voskamp’s follow-up, The Wonder of the Greatest Gift: An Interactive Family Celebration of Advent (Tyndale House, 2017) includes a 13-inch Jesse Tree pop-up, simple devotionals, and ornaments ready to hang on the tree.

Marty Machowski’s Prepare Him Room (New Growth Press, 2014) combines use of a traditional Advent wreath, candle lighting, and Scripture reading with hymns, crafts, and a fictional Christmas tale. Following a similar pattern, Amanda White’s e-book Truth in the Tinsel appeals to younger children with daily ornament-making and readings from the Biblical Christmas story. Busy mothers will also appreciate its concise, user-friendly platform. —M.J.