Thanksgiving is the holiday that seems to get overlooked a lot. We just finished all the fun Halloween books and we are getting all our winter and Christmas books ready. Don’t forget that there are some great Thanksgiving read alouds that your students will love!
Fiction Thanksgiving Books
One of my favorite read alouds is Thanksgiving at the Tappletons by Eileen Spinelli.
This is a story about all the trouble that come along with fixing Thanksgiving dinner. The turkey slides 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.
However, 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 first put the recipe on the overhead and then the students would copy it for their recipe book. Click on the title for the recipe.
A Turkey for Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting is a fun story about having a turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
Mr. Moose goes out looking for a turkey to have for Thanksgiving dinner. In addition, the rest of Mr. Moose’s friends come along for the journey. Mr. Moose finds Turkey and brings him home for dinner. However, after getting to the Moose’s home, Turkey realizes he is a guest and not the dinner.
Nonfiction Thanksgiving Books
Thanksgiving by Gail Gibbons is a nonfiction book that gives facts about Thanksgiving. There are facts about the Pilgrims and Native Americans. Gibbons also describes traditions we have with Thanksgiving.
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Anderson is about Sarah Hale and her persistent pursuit in making Thanksgiving a national holiday. Thanksgiving became recognized as a national holiday 38 years later. This is an easy book to read for young students.
I have created a turkey story map that you can use with the fiction stories. Click on the image below to get a copy of the story map. If you like this activity, I also have a Thanksgiving Turkey Unit that includes this story map and other turkey activities.
Let me know what your favorite Thanksgiving story is. Thanks for stopping by!
