We all have our favorite Thanksgiving books to read to our kids each year. Most of them involve a turkey, some pie, and a cartoon character trying to figure out the true meaning of the holiday. But Thanksgiving is so much more than that and it’s time to dig deeper into America’s most grateful time of year. Instead of counting our runaway turkeys year after year, let’s take the time to explore some new traditions with a fresh set of voices and revisit the history behind Thanksgiving. These books will spark your kids’ curiosity and have them brimming with gratitude all year long.
Books to Grow Gratitude
Around the Table That Granddad Built by Melanie Heiuser Hill
Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell
Giving Thanks: More than 100 Ways to Say Thank You by Ellen Surrey
Thankful by Eileen Spinelli
The Thankful Book by Todd Parr
Thanks a Million by Nikki Grimes
Books to Celebrate Minority Voices
Auntie Yang’s Great Soybean Picnic by Ginnie Lo
Duck for Turkey Day by Jacqueline Jules
Fry Bread: A Native American Family Story by Kevin Noble
Gracias the Thanksgiving Turkey by Joy Cowley
Milly and the Macy’s Parade by Shana Corey
Not This Turkey! by Jessica Steinberg
Rivka’s First Thanksgiving by Elsa Okon Rael
We are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorrel
Books to Appreciate our History
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of the Macy’s Parade by Melissa Sweet
Nickommoh! A Thanksgiving Celebration by Jackie French Koller
Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac
When We Were Alone by David Alexander
Yum! ¡MmMm! ¡Que Rico! by Pat Mora
