On Story Bent

This cheerful rhyming book narrating the journey on the Mayflower through to the first shared Thanksgiving is an absolutely fantastic addition to our library. I particularly appreciate how the refrain for each section is a moment of thanksgiving for God's kindness and provision even through all the difficulties. Also love the colorful, historically accurate attire. Can be read to a variety of ages. Definitely deserves to be more widely known!  

"When Bartholomew, Remember, and Mary Allerton and their parents first step down from the Mayflower after sixty days at sea, they never dream that life in the New World will be so hard. Many in their Plymouth Colony won't make it through the winter, and the colony's first harvest is possible only with the help of two friends, Samoset and Squanto. Richly detailed paintings show how the pilgrims lived after landing at Plymouth, through the dark winter and into the busy days of spring, summer, and fall. Culminating with the excitement of the original Thanksgiving feast, Three Young Pilgrims  makes history come alive." (from the back cover) If I had to choose one book about the pilgrims, this would be it. Absolute top favorite. I loved it as a child and I love it now. (And yes, my daughter enjoyed it too.) Beautifully illustrated and told perfectly, the author touches on all the salient points -- the voyage, the hunger and sickness, the loss even children had to face, and...

Lyrical and sweet, this is Mama's favorite Thanksgiving picture book! (Though I might be biased as it feels very turn-of-the-century to me and that's my favorite time period and I feel like you so rarely see it in picture books that I'm just honor bound to champion it, too. ;D)  All that aside, detailing how the entire family -- parents, children, grandparents, uncle, and aunt -- come together to prepare and cook the feast, to sit down in thankfulness, and, finally, to share the bread... it's really just so lovely! And just look at these illustrations. <3 Yes, indeedy. One of our tip top favorites, I'm happy to highly recommend it. Hoping you can find and enjoy it too!!

"Today was Thanksgiving, Grandmother's favorite day of the year. The cooking was done and her famous cranberry bread was cooling on the wooden board. Every year Grandmother invited a guest for dinner and allowed Maggie to do the same. 'Ask someone poor or lonely,' she always said. But she wasn't happy upon learning that Maggie had invited the unsavory Mr. Whiskers to dinner. Would her secret cranberry bread recipe be safe with him in the house?" While the premise of this one may be evvvvvvvver so slightly silly, and the writing may be ever so slightly choppy, it's also charming; and the Nostalgia is Very Real. I loved reading the Cranberry books years ago (more reviews to come for the rest in the future, hopefully!) and so excited most are back in print at the moment. With the progression of time and since becoming a bit of a true crime buff, I'm now much more cautious of the whole idea of Friendly Gentlemen Strangers Being Introduced and Hanging Roun...

Richly evocative, this is a gorgeous picture book, one that instantly has the feel of a classic. :) It's based on a real upstate New York family who have hosted an outdoor Thanksgiving in the woods for family, friends, and strangers (around 200 of them!) for over twenty years, which is just so hospitable and very inspiring. My one caveat... even though I absolutely love the tune, picky me does take some issue with the Shaker hymn included, but that's just cause I've done a semi-deep dive on the Shakers doctrine and theology / some of their highly questionable origins and practices... But as far as the song goes in this book and as a read-aloud, the words are simple and just sound like an old-timey song. So yeah, mixed feelings on that. Otherwise, it's unique, beautifully illustrated, and one we look forward to pulling out each year. Definitely worth checking out!

Smoothly written and easy to read aloud, this picture book covers the historical facts leading up to the first Thanksgiving. While it doesn't delve deeply into the reasons the pilgrims set sail from England (other than mentioning that the king of England wouldn't let them worship God in their own way) and while it also doesn't elaborate on their direct thankfulness to God at the end, it's straightforward and less abstract than some others I've seen for the targeted age group. It makes an excellent first nonfiction read, neatly encapsulating their ocean journey and the ups and downs of the first year leading up to the great feast. Nice illustrations. Short and succinct, it's our standby, making a great introduction to the topic! Recommend for ages 4-5 & up

This is a cute picture book. It's not intended as an in-depth introduction to the first Thanksgiving, but with short, lilting lines, it captures the action, hard work, and enthusiasm of all the children helping prepare for the feast. It also has a nice notes-from-the-author section that goes into more explanation on what's happening in the illustrations. Altogether, lively and evocative, it does make a great first introduction to the historic event for small people. (Since it's a counting book, it can also become quite animated during a read aloud session. ;)) Definitely worth a look and/or picking up at your local library!