November 24, 2008 at 4:21 pm (Rhyming, Thanksgiving)
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale by Derek Anderson
Using the words to the classic song, this story takes on a different twist. Three turkeys are on their way to Grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving dinner, but they are being pursued by a boy and his dog, which makes the trek tricky. Do they make it safely? Or do they become Thanksgiving dinner?
The pictures tell the story in this book (the reason I bought the book). They are simple, but humorous.
November 20, 2008 at 4:24 pm (Thanksgiving)
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving by Dav Pilkey
This book cleverly follows the classic rhyme ‘Twas the Night Before Christmas. Some school children head to Farmer Mack Nuggett’s farm for a class field trip to see the turkeys. They soon discover what Farmer Mack Nuggett’s plan is for those turkeys, and they don’t like it one bit! The find a way to hide those turkeys and end up having a vegetarian Thanksgiving instead. And those turkeys?! They lived!!
A fun, fun read! My son came home from preschool with a large turkey to disguise based on this book. So cute! This has turned into a new favorite!
November 16, 2008 at 4:35 pm (Guest Posts, Rhyming, Thanksgiving)
This is a guest post by Marie, of Make and Takes. I have followed (or stalked) her blog for awhile now, although I didn’t know her. One day, I read on her site about this photography studio, who was opening their doors and doing some CHEAP pictures for Halloween. Well, I can’t miss an opportunity for a deal so we went. While we were there, Marie came in with her adorable little ones. I recognized her immediately, we chatted, and we’ve been blogging friends since. This lady has the CUTEST craft ideas for kids, your home, and the likes! Check out her site! You won’t be disappointed, I promise. So, without further ado, I give you, MARIE!!!
This First Thanksgiving Day by Laura Krauss Melmed
My book pick is This First Thanksgiving Day by Laura Krauss Melmed. I love this book for it’s lovely harvest illustrations and the sing-song rhyming words. It’s a counting book with Pilgrim and Wampanoag people, and my kids love the fun animals and objects they get to find and count. The kids are involved in the story, helping find the number of items it calls for on each page. Some things are pretty tricky to see, but the kids love to look. Then after we finish, my kids want to read it again as they now know where everything is!
This book has a great thankful feeling, helping us appreciate what we have. I love the illustrations and the soft coloring. It makes me feel like the book is authentic in it’s captured time. I highly recommend reading this Thanksgiving story before your own big feast on Turkey Day.
I had never seen this book before. My son wanted to go to Barnes and “Noble’s” (as he calls it) on Saturday. Go figure! What four-year-old wants to spend a Saturday afternoon at a bookstore?! LOVE IT!! Anyway, I digress. So, we went, and I found this book while there. I was so curious about it! We loved it!! Marie was right–my son enjoyed finding the turkey and the hidden items on each page. I would definitely recommend this book, too! Thanks, Marie!
November 10, 2008 at 8:10 pm (Thanksgiving)
Sarah Morton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl by Kate Waters
Samuel Eaton’s Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Boy by Kate Waters
Tapenum’s Day: A Wampanoag Indian Boy in Pilgrim Times by Kate Waters
These books are fabulous for teaching children about the daily life of the Pilgrims and Indians! The author uses pictures and real facts that depict the life of a child during that particular era, for example how many layers of clothes they had to put on every morning and what daily chores they had to do. Very popular in elementary schools. Great conversation starter. A must read for Thanksgiving!
November 5, 2008 at 8:41 am (Winter)
Snowmen at Night by Caralyn Buehner
Have you ever wondered why your snowman looks misshapen the next morning? Why his hat is falling and his smile is crooked? What really happens while the world is sleeping? You’ll find out in this book! Snowball fights and cold cocoa, sledding and races. That’s really what the snowmen are doing.
This book has a very simple story-line making it fun for all ages. The pictures are bright and colorful. For more fun, there are different shapes you can search for in the pictures, such as Santa and a cat.
This is one of my all-time favorite books. If you haven’t read it, I HIGHLY encourage you to! But you may have a hard time finding it at the library because it’s so popular!
So, find your favorite snuggling buddy and cozy up together for some snowy day fun!
November 3, 2008 at 1:20 pm (Election)
Halloween is over so you’ll have to wait until next year to see more Halloween book recommendations. (Come on. You didn’t expect me to share all my favorites, right?!) My next thought was Thanksgiving, but sadly, my Thanksgiving collection is pretty pitiful so I have to save those for the next couple of weeks. Then I thought about the election taking place tomorrow and browsed through my books to see if I had any other election books and found this one! Doreen Cronin is one of my favorite authors, and I’m sure I’ll highlight some of her other books in the future. So, without further ado, I bring you Duck for President!
Duck for President by Doreen Cronin
One day, Duck decides he’s tired of his chores on the farm so he puts together an election to choose a “new man” in charge. He runs against Farmer Brown, and wins! Then he decides that running a farm is no fun so he runs for governor and then President of the United States. The story takes on a clever twist at the end when he returns to the farm…
If you have any favorite books on Thanksgiving, let me know. I’m looking for a guest poster later this month!
