Favorite Family Thanksgiving Books

If your kids are off school for a few days, or you're looking for some meaningful reads in your homeschool, why not try some of our favorite Thanksgiving books?  

1. The Thanksgiving Story - Alice Dagliesh is an author dear to our hearts and does a nice job telling the history of our country in a way that relates to children. This narrative follows the journey of siblings that sailed on the Mayflower and survived to celebrate Thanksgiving.

2. Balloons over Broadway - this is a fun new addition to our library this year and will make seeing the parade even more special!

3. The First Thanksgiving - This beautiful picture books comes from Newbery Medalist Jean Craighead George and tells a balanced tale of the Thanksgiving feast. She tells the story of the Pawtuxet's fear of white men and the trickery that led to the capture and enslavement of seventeen of their men, including Squanto, who eventually would return to help the pilgrims.  Then we hear about the brave Pilgrims, with faith and determination, who lasted through a terrible winter and then created a peace treaty with Massosoit that would last more than fifty years.

4. Sharing the Bread - this is a sweet, old fashioned story about a family preparing and enjoying their Thanksgiving meal.  The rhyming verses make it a pleasure to read out loud.

Bonus* Squanto's Journey - I can't believe I forgot to photograph my favorite of the bunch.  If you're not familiar with Squanto, he has an incredible story.  He was captured and suffered as a slave for many years in Europe before he was able to gain his freedom. After waiting many years in England for an opportunity to return to his homeland, he returned only to find his family and village had completely died out.  He made friends with the pilgrims that settled on his tribe's old land and decided to stay with them to teach them how to farm and survive.  It's wonderful to hear the Thanksgiving story from the perspective of Squanto.

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