Thanksgiving Story Time Books

I had hoped to have a fun Thanksgiving story time today, but none of my kids showed up! I've decided to just write a brief blurb on the following books that I might have used.

In I'm a Turkey! by Jim Arnosky, Tom the Turkey introduces us to himself, his parents, and his flock in a delightful rhyme. He tells us about a day in the life of a turkey and says, "When you live in a flock of that many birds, you've got to communicate, but not with words. We putt and peep and squawk and squabble - talking turkey, gobble, gobble." He closes the story by asking the reader to make gobbling sounds the next time the reader sees a turkey because it just might be him!

In Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson, which is another story set in rhyme, Bear decides to have a feast. But there's a big problem - his cupboards are bare! His friends stop by with food for everybody to share. Mouse brings a huckleberry pie, Hare brings a big batch of muffins, Badger brings fish, Gopher and Mole bring warm honey nuts, and Owl, Raven, and Wren have "pears from the tree and herbs to brew tea!" But Bear has nothing. His cupboards are bare! Mouse squeaks, "Don't fret. There's enough dear Bear. You don't need any food, you have stories to share!"

Feast for 10 by Cathryn Falwell is a story that children can count along with you as you read the story. The story describes a trip to the grocery store and cooking in numbers. For example, they pick among other groceries, "8 eight ripe tomatoes and 9 plump potatoes." "Ten 10 hands help to load the car. 2 two will look and 3 three will cook." This is a good interactive story and a story that you can use to help teach numbers.

The Thankful Book by Todd Parr features a list of everyday things, places, and people that children can be thankful for such as pets, music, colors, fall, winter, hugs, kisses, and holidays. This is a short sweet inspirational book.The story is also a good way to get the children to think about what they are thankful for.

In Thelonius Turkey Lives! by Lynn Rowe Reed, Thelonius is convinced he is going to be the main course for Thanksgiving dinner. After all, isn't that why Felicia Ferguson is giving him three square meals of special seeds? Why is she plucking his feathers? To better determine his size? Thelonius decides he's not going to give up without a fight and enlists the help of his friends for some crazy antics. Thelonius and the cow change the plumbing so that Felicia is taking a shower in milk! Thelonius paints a sign on the barn that says "pinch me" and all of the geese pinch Felicia. Thelonius even convinces the pigs to take a nap in Felicia's bed! Finally, Felicia loads a terrified Thelonius in her truck and heads toward town not to the chopping block, but to a hat factory! Felicia has been using Thelonius's feathers to make hats! On Thanksgiving Day, Thelonius fixes a feast for Felicia and all of his friends. In addition to the story, I also really enjoyed the collage style of illustrations in this book.

In Gobble Gobble Crash! A Barnyard Counting Bash by Julie Stiegemeyer, five wild turkeys flew above the apple tree and crashed into a chicken coop where "Mama Hen grew angry, and she scolded loud and quick, turkeys, can't you calm yourselves? Think of my six chicks!" The turkeys continue to wreck havoc throughout the barnyard startling seven baby mice, eight little goats, nine baby pigs, and ten baby robins. When the farmer wakes up, he yells "I'm gonna have a turkey feast!" However, the animals hide the turkeys and save them.

In Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvana, Turkey is in really big trouble! It looks like he's going to be the main course for Thanksgiving! To stop this from happening, he tries to disguise himself as a horse, cow, pig, sheep, and rooster. His most successful disguise is as a rooster, but Turkey worries that a rooster might be the farmer's next choice for a Thanksgiving dinner. Finally, Turkey disguises himself as a pizza delivery boy and the farmer and his wife enjoy pizza for Thanksgiving.