The Only Thanksgiving Books You Need

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Just your November Hype Girl checking in for duty! Since the beginning of my teaching career in 2006, I somehow grabbed onto Thanksgiving and turkeys as my thing. I’ve collected all the books, learned all the songs, made hundreds of feather cutouts and written I’m thankful for… more times than I can count! If there was a Queen of Thanksgiving it me!

I think I own every turkey or Thanksgiving book on the market. Some of them don’t hold up in 2020 so I didn’t include them in this list. The books I have included are tried and true! When I say these are the only books you need, I mean it. These books give a wonderful overview of Thanksgiving, thankfulness, family and food. Throw in some light turkey humor and you’ve got yourself a party!!

This book covers a wide range of ages. At the top of each page is an easy sentence based on Thanksgiving is… followed by more informational text for older children. With younger children you can just read the simple sentence. Thanksgiving is…works well with siblings of various ages.

I love the sweetness of the illustrations in this book for younger children. It gives a wonderful overview of Thanksgiving at an age appropriate level for 2’s-5’s.

I love nothing more than turkeys who celebrate Thanksgiving! This book is full of hilarious pictures of an out of control Thanksgiving celebration with the Turkey family. I love having students pick a member of the family to follow along in the illustrations. It’s also great for older students making predictions like, Who else is going to show up? What are the Turkeys going to eat for dinner? It’s the best!

Thanks for Thanksgiving is a newer book for my collection, but I love it already! Its best for younger children who are just beginning to understand what being thankful means. Using detailed illustrations but simple text it leads your child through all the things we have in our life to be thankful for.

Ten turkeys on a fence, counting and hilarity ensue! Great for older toddlers who are beginning one to one correspondence and number recognition.

I love all of Karen Katz’s Where is Baby’s collection, this Thanksgiving themed one is no exception. All my young toddlers and babies have loved the flaps, colors, and repetition. Adults won’t get sick of reading this over and over!

I saved the best for last! If you purchase ONE Thanksgiving book this year, make it this one. Poor Turkey realizes that his peaceful life on the farm is about to be literally cut short if he doesn’t run away from the farmer. Every classroom I have ever read this to has asked for it to be read over and over. I don’t know how much that has to do with my dramatic reading or the content. It’s a classic for a reason!

While there are plenty of Thanksgiving and turkey books available, these will give you a well rounded start to the holiday season.

Don’t forget to stop by on Thursday, I’ll have a printable waiting for you. Connect with me on Instagram or theteachingnannyblog@gmail.com.