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Thursday, October 28, 2010

Thanksgiving Books for Kids (with a giveaway)

I've come to really appreciate Ideals Books when it comes to celebrating the holidays with small children. They are kind of my automatic go-to source when I'm looking for a way to explain a holiday to my toddler. Their books are always simple and straightforward making concepts easy to grasp.

So, naturally I was delighted to be given the opportunity to check out some of their board books on the topic of Thanksgiving.

Today Is Thanksgiving! is one of their board book and the story is told in rhyme. The book opens with two smiling children who are looking out their window, safe inside from the icicle breeze which is whipping the leaves around.

The children troop down to the kitchen to find their parents deep in the thick of things when it comes to preparing the family's meal for the day. The children are remembering the Pilgrims and Indians, parades on tv, friends in the neighborhood who come over to play football (well, ok, we don't do that exactly), family and full bellies. This book is a fun look at Thanksgiving and just hits on the various traditions that families have in celebrating the day.

What Is Thanksgiving? asks the question of the meaning behind the day. Is it all of the activities mentioned in the aforementioned book? Is it the food? The friends? The family? Ultimately this book lets the young reader know that no, it isn't about the things or the particulars of the day. It's about remembering to be thankful to God for the blessings that He has poured out over our lives. Yes, Thanksgiving day itself is fun and full of treasured traditions, etc. But this book reminds the reader that we need to look to the source of these individual gifts. Obviously I have no complaints about the conclusion that this particular title has drawn. Very strong and definite Christian message if you are looking for something along those lines.

Lastly, Ideals Books has just released a new edition of An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving, by Louisa May Alcott. This new title is illustrated by Jody Wheeler and is more kid-friendly than the version I reviewed last year. I really like the feel Wheeler has given Alcott's story and I'm excited to see this new presentation of the book. (By the way, I also reviewed An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving movie last year at 5 Minutes for Books. My advice is to read the short story and skip the movie if you have to take your pick. Or watch the movie but don't think of it as having anything to do with the original book!)



I'm so glad that Ideals Books is bringing this story back! It is a perfect read aloud for the Thanksgiving season and so I'm extremely delighted to inform you that Ideals Books has offered a copy of An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving to one of you!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED. THE WINNER, selected by Random.org, is #7 - Serena!

Congratulations!

Happy (Early) Thanksgiving to you and yours!

40 comments:

Dani said...

Thanks for the recommendations! I bought my daughter the Easter companion (I guess you would call it) to What is Thanksgiving? It talks about many of the traditions but focuses on the reason for Easter. Looks like some more books to add to our collection.

jen said...

Thanksgiving comes at such a beautiful,cozy time of year. I would love to read this book to my girls- thanks for the giveaway!

A Faithful Journey said...

Great book! My kids would love it!!
Thanks for the giveaway!

Gidget Girl Reading said...

i love thanksgiving books right now our favorite is: Saying grace : a prayer of thanksgiving and Give Thanks to the Lord : Celebrating Psalm 92

we haven't read the today is thanksgiving and what is thanksgiving

but haven't read the one up for a giveaway

Alison said...

I love LMA and don't own that book yet. :-)

Annette W. said...

This would be a great way to introduce Alcott to my daughter! I noticed Dani's comment about the Easter companion, too. :)

Serena said...

We'd definitely enjoy this!

Cheryl said...

Would love this for my kids!

Ticia said...

I'm always looking for more Thanksgiving books, they're harder to find.

I think we have the Easter one from that series.

Anonymous said...

Great recommendations! I watched the movie of An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving last year. Now you have me interested in reading the book! Thanks for hosting this give away.

Stephanie said...

These look neat!

Sky said...

Another giveaway? I'm in!

jama said...

Thanks for featuring these, Carrie. Good Thanksgiving books are hard to find :).

CrumleyCrew said...

I would love this book for my son

Anonymous said...

An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving sounds wonderful! Thanks for the giveaway.

apple blossom said...

Thanks for the giveaway. please include me in this giveaway.

ABreading4fun [at] gmail [dot] com

Heather VanTimmeren said...

I love Thanksgiving! Thanks for the book recommendations, and we'd love to add one to our collection!

Mozi Esme said...

I'd love to add more Thanksgiving books to our collection!

We posted about this giveaway at Winning Readings: http://winningreadings.blogspot.com/2010/10/old-fashioned-thanksgiving.html

janemaritz at yahoo dot com

Unknown said...

This book looks great!

Trinity Rose said...

Sounds like a great book.
thanks for the giveaway.
Trinity Rose
wandaelaine at gmail dot com

Kathy Habel said...

I love holiday books. Thanks for the chance to win.
bkhabel at gmail dot com

Anonymous said...

I would love to read this book with my daughter. Thanks for the giveaway.
peacelily_2006(at)yahoo(dot)com

Kaizen Fashion Project said...

We are such bookworms in our house! My kiddos would adore this! Thanks for the chance to win!

heatheranne99 at gmail dot com

Karen said...

My 1st grade students would love all of these!!!!

Clair said...

I would love to win! As a teacher I always spend some time talking about Thanksgiving with my students.

Kristie said...

Sounds like a great book! Thank you for the chance to win.

khmorgan_00 [at] yahoo [dot] com

Unknown said...

Oh my kids would love to read this and the other recommendations

danellejohns at gmail dot com

MaureenT said...

My little guys ages 5 and 3 would LOVE this. Please include me!


alekee02[at]yahoo[dot]com

rubynreba said...

I think this would be a great book for kids to stop and think about what Thanksgiving is all about.
pbclark(at)netins(dot)net

Linda Kish said...

This would be a great addition to my DIL's niece's little library.

lkish77123 at gmail dot com

Judylynn said...

Hey, Carrie! This book sounds great! Please enter me in this giveaway.

seizethebookblog(at)gmail(dot)com

Anonymous said...

sounds great. thanks
trishbazin(at)yahoo.com

Danielle said...

I would love to have this to read to my boys!!!

danielle78(at)comcast(dot)net

Krista said...

Oh this would be fun to read, by Louisa May Alcott! :)

Amy @ Hope Is the Word said...

We read An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving last year, and we enjoyed it. (My review is here--> http://www.hopeisthewordblog.com/2009/11/19/read-aloud-thursday-more-thanksgiving-books/)

I wouldn't mind owning a copy of it!

Thanks, Carrie! :-)

Desiree said...

Just found your blog from Semicolon. Enjoyed your rocommendations and looking forward to reading some. I am also collecting books for my grandchildren and your recommendations are truly appreciated. I am hoping to win this book for when we seen the kids at Thanksgiving! Please contact me at davidndes(at)comcast(dot)net

wmmahaney said...

I have been looking for some good Thanksgiving books to read to my son. These sound great.
wmmahaney(at)att(dot)net

Debbie F said...

I have two little ones - this would be great for them. Count me in and thank you.

dcf_beth at verizon dot net

Sarah M. said...

What a fun give-away. I've been looking for some good read-alouds for Thanksgiving. Please count me in on the give-away. And thank you for it!

Sarah M. said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
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