I am going to share with you five of my favorite Thanksgiving books to read the week before Thanksgiving. I really enjoy doing fun Thanksgiving activities throughout the week. The kids also love listening to the Thanksgiving stories.
graphics by A Sketchy Guy
#1 Thanksgiving at the Tappletons by Eileen Spinelli- This is a story about all the trouble that come along with fixing Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey goes sliding out the door and the other holiday foods get ruined in humorous ways. So what do the Tappletons do? They eat a nontraditional meal for dinner.
I really like the older version of the story with people instead of wolves. After reading the book we would make No Bake Pumpkin Pies. I would put the recipe on the overhead and the students would copy it for their recipe book. Click on the title for the recipe.
#2 A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting- This is a fun story about having a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner. Mr. Moose goes out looking for a turkey to have for Thanksgiving dinner. The rest of Mr. Moose’s friends come along for the journey. Mr. Moose finds Turkey and brings him home for dinner. After getting to the Moose’s home, Turkey realizes he is a guest and not the dinner.
#3 Thanksgiving by Gail Gibbons- This is great nonfiction book that gives facts about Thanksgiving. There are facts about the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Gibbons also describes traditions we have with Thanksgiving.
#4 Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Anderson- This book is about Sarah Hale and her persistent pursuit in making Thanksgiving a national holiday. It took her 38 years of letter writing to get Thanksgiving recognized as a national holiday. This is an easy book to read for young students.
#5 Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey- This story mimics the Night Before Christmas. It is a fun story about some kids that go on a field trip to Farmer Mac Nugget’s turkey farm. The kids realize what is going to happen to the turkeys and sneak them home with them. My kids always love hearing this story!
After reading the story we do a turkey story map. Click on the image below to get a copy of my turkey story map. If you like this activity, I also have a Thanksgiving Turkey Unit that includes this story map and other turkey activities.
I hope you have a great Thanksgiving! What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving books? Share in the comments section.
