Mousekin's Thanksgiving

Mousekin's Thanksgiving by Edna Miller (Simon and Schuster, 1985). 

This book is about a mouse who wakes up on a cold November day to discover that the food he stored for the winter is gone. He goes to all the animals in the woods asking them who took his food, and they describe the large bird that gobbles. Come winter, the turkey digs up the food from under the snow and the mouse and all his animal friends have a feast. 

The text and watercolor illustrations evoke a calm, quiet atmosphere. This is the only Mousekin book I had as a kid, but I've discovered that it's actually part of a series. I look forward to checking out some of the other titles, especially the other holiday ones.

For more Thanksgiving books, visit my Pinterest board here.

Over the River and Through the Wood

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! Wishing you peace on this day.

Over the River and Through the Wood, poem by Lydia Maria Child. Illustrated with woodcuts by Christopher Manson. 

Sharing the Bread: An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Story

Sharing the Bread: An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving Story by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Jill McElmurry (Schwartz & Wade, 2015).

This is a great book about a traditional 19th century American Thanksgiving.  The illustrations are great, I loved looking at all the little details and historical touches. The story itself has a nice sentiment about everyone in the family sharing responsibilities in preparing for the meal and coming together to express gratitude. 

There is also a activity kit for the book available as a PDF here. 

I wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving! 

Thanksgiving Treat

Thanksgiving Treat by Catherine Stock (Atheneum, 1990). 

This is a sweet book about a young boy who wants to help with Thanksgiving preparations but no one in his family wants his help because they think he'll just get in the way.  Until of course his grandfather teaches him out to collect chestnuts for roasting, and his family is appreciative of the yummy treat.  

Catherine Stock has written and illustrated numerous wonderful picture books, including Galimoto which was a Reading Rainbow book.  

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower: John Howland's Good Fortune

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower: John Howland's Good Fortune by P.J. Lynch (Candlewick, 2015). 

When I found out about this book, I had to get it.  I'm a descendant of Mayflower passengers John Howland and Elizabeth Tilley so I was eager to see how a picture book would tell their story.  P.J. Lynch is an award-winning author and illustrator from Ireland.  His illustrations here are beautifully rich and detailed. He also did a good job with writing the story from a teenage Howland's perspective. The title of the story comes when Howland falls of the Mayflower in a storm but of course is saved and pulled back on.  It's a good thing or I, and millions of his other descendants, wouldn't have been born. 

Despite being a picture book, this is definitely a book for older children-- I'd say probably 10 and up.  He lets readers into the mind of Howland which, while not being historically factual, helps kids put themselves in a Mayflower passenger's shoes.  Being an adult, some of these thoughts and dialogues made me question how accurate some of the sentiments would have been at that time.  For instance, there is a scene where Howland is given an order to steal corn from a native's home and he expresses how it weighs on his conscience.  In reality, would he have cared about taking food from a native? I don't know, maybe. I think coming up with excuses for our ancestors' behavior to be problematic. But at least this is a way of conveying to kids that stealing did happen.  There is also a scene where Squanto tells them how his whole village was killed off by a plague brought by the white man.  So the author definitely tries not to gloss over the hard truths while still telling the story from Howland's point of view. 

I also liked how he included "Lizzy" Tilley throughout the story.  She has a pivotal role in the end especially.  When Howland wants to sail back to London to make a fortune and suggests she go too, she tells him that her parents died trying to start a life in America and she won't let their dream and hard work be in vain, that there is still more work to do and neighbors to help. This persuades  Howland to stay, which turns out to be a good thing because the boat that went back was attacked by pirates, and of course a couple years later he and Elizabeth marry. While her speech to Howland to persuade him to stay probably isn't accurate (although I don't know personally if that came from research or just an invention of Lynch), there isn't a reason why it couldn't be, and helps readers to imagine women at the time.  It actually makes me want to read a story from Elizabeth Tilley's perspective now.

Overall, I thought this was a great book and definitely worth reading with older kids.  It could open up a lot of questions and be great for having conversations about our history and its portrayal. 

On The Mayflower

Suffering the first winter

Squanto showing them how to plant their crops and manure the fields

Thanksgiving

Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner

Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner by Lillian Hoban (Harper Collins, 1990).

This was one of my favorite Thanksgiving books as a kid. It's a fun, sweet book. 

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone! 

Squanto's Journey

Squanto's Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac, illustrated by Greg Shed (HMH Books for Young Readers, 2000). 

This is a beautifully illustrated story that tells a slightly different version of the first Thanksgiving than what we usually hear. Joseph Bruchac is an Abenaki Indian who has written many wonderful children's books. I appreciated that he wrote of the atrocities against Native Americans in this book, although the end does maybe feel a little too hopeful.  Then again, it is a children's book, and a Thanksgiving story, so I understand why he would do that.  Although many reviews laud this as a historically accurate story from the POV of a Native American, I did see that was on Oyate's list of Thanksgiving books to avoid, so I wonder why (Oyate is a Native organization working to see that our lives and histories are portrayed with honesty and integrity.)