A New Look at Thanksgiving Using Children's Literature

Author

Notes

Photo essay offering a counternarrative to prevailing Thanksgiving narratives. Ages 8-12, grades 3-7. Can be used for classroom lesson planning for younger students.

Description

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Takes a fresh look at the Thanksgiving of 1621 as ninety Native-Americans shared five deer, corn, hominy grits, and stewed squash with fifty-two English people and talked diplomacy.

2) Be a good ancestor

Author

Prince, Gabrielle

Notes

Ages 3-5. Indigenous perspective on our responsibility to the earth and each other. Authors from Lake Babine Nation; illustrator of Cree background.

Description

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"Thought-provoking stanzas encourage readers of all ages to consider they ways in which they live in connection to the world around them and encourages them to think deeply about their behaviors. Rooted in Indigenous teachings, the message delivered by the authors is universal, be a good ancestor to the world around you."--

3) Before we eat: from farm to table

Author

Brisson, Pat

Notes

Ages 3 to 7. Themes: community, food systems, occupations, labor.

Description

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As a family sits down to enjoy a meal, thoughts of those who provide the food, from farmers who plant and tend seeds to store clerks who sell groceries, fill each one with gratitude.

4) Berry song

Author

Goade, Michaela

Notes

Ages 4-8. Book about the seasons and food gathering/foraging from Native perspective. Author member of Tlingit Nation.

Formats:

Book, Talking Book

Description

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As a young Tlingit girl collects wild berries over the seasons, she sings with her Grandmother as she learns to speak to the land and listen when the land speaks back.

5) Eggs from Red Hen Farm: farm to table with mazes and maps

Author

Wellington, Monica

Notes

Ages 3-7. Follow how eggs get from the farm to the store and our homes, with fun mazes.

Description

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"Ruby and Ned gather eggs from their hens and ride their red truck to deliver the eggs--to the farmer's market, the restaurant, the school, the grocery story, and the bakery. The baker uses the eggs in her yummiest cookies--and gives them to Ruby and Ned!" -- Amazon.com. "A fun story with maps and mazes shows children where their food comes from"--

6) The first Thanksgiving: separating fact from fiction

Author

Mavrikis, Peter

Series

Fact vs. fiction in U.S. history

Notes

Middle Grades nonfiction, ages 8 and up. Can be used for lesson planning for younger students. Written by citizen of the Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Ojibwe.

Formats:

Book, eBook

Description

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"Every November, the United States celebrates Thanksgiving Day. But what actually happened at the first Thanksgiving? And when did it happen? Discover the facts and find out the fiction surrounding one of America's favorite holidays"--

7) Fry bread: a Native American family story

Author

Maillard, Kevin Noble

Notes

Ages 3-6. Features depiction of present day Native American families. Written by Native author from Seminole Nation, Mekusukey band.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle

Description

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Using illustrations that show the diversity in Native America and spare poetic text that emphasizes fry bread in terms of provenance, this volume tells the story of a post-colonial food that is a shared tradition for Native American families all across the North American continent. Includes a recipe and an extensive author note that delves into the social ways, foodways, and politics of America's 573 recognized tribes.

8) Giving thanks: a Native American good morning message

Author

Swamp, Chief Jake

Notes

Ages 5 to 11. Thankfulness from an indigenous perspective (Akwasne Mohawk).

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook

Description

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Reading Rainbow Selection - PBS Kids

A traditional Iroquois celebration of the beauty and spirit of Mother Earth, as told by a contemporary Mohawk chief.

For as long as anyone can remember, Mohawk parents have taught their children to start each day by giving thanks to Mother Earth. Also known as the Thanksgiving Address, this good morning message is based on the belief that the natural world is a precious and rare gift. The

...

9) Giving thanks: how Thanksgiving became a national holiday

Author

Kiernan, Denise

Notes

Nonfiction picture book, ages 4-8. Presents history of how Thanksgiving became a national holiday-which had nothing to do with traditional Thanksgiving narratives.

Description

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"All across the world, among hundreds of cultures, over centuries, people have come together to give thanks. But in America, we didn't have an official Thanksgiving holiday until the 1800s. The holiday Americans know today exists because of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale, a spirited letter-writing campaign, a sympathetic president, and a civil war."--

10) Gracias - Thanks

Author

Mora, Pat

Notes

Bilingual English/Spanish text. Appropriate for PreK through grade 3. Thankfulness.

Formats:

eBook, Talking Book

Description

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Pura Belpré Illustrator Award Honor - American Library Association (ALA)

In a series of poetic sentences, a young boy (biracial Mexican/Caucasian) tells about some of the everyday things for which he is thankful.

There are so many things to be thankful for.

For one young boy, it's
flying ladybugs,
splashing ocean waves,
a best friend,
Dad's thick chocolate syrup,
and much more.

Straight

...

11) Grandma's tiny house: a counting story!

Author

Brown-Wood, JaNay

Notes

Ages 2 to 5. Themes: Family gatherings, sharing of food, counting numbers.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, Talking Book

Description

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In rhyming text, when the whole family and guests show up for the big dinner at Grandma's house, it becomes clear that the house is much too small to hold them all.

12) Growing vegetable soup

Author

Ehlert, Lois

Notes

Appropriate for ages 2 and up. Cut paper illustrations follow vegetables from seed to soup.

Formats:

Book, Board Books

Description

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A father and child grow vegetables and then make them into a soup.

13) Hungry Johnny

Author

Minnema, Cheryl

Notes

Ages 3 and up. Written and illustrated by creators from Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe. Themes: sharing of food, family, respect for Elders.

Description

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"I like to eat, eat, eat," choruses young Johnny as he watches Grandma at work in the kitchen. Wild rice, fried potatoes, fruit salad, frosted sweet rolls -- what a feast! Johnny can hardly contain his excitement. In no time, he'll be digging in with everyone else, filling his belly with all this good food. But wait. First there is the long drive to the community center. And then an even longer Ojibwe prayer. And then -- well, young boys know to follow...

14) If you lived during the Plimoth Thanksgiving

Author

Newell, Chris

Series

If you lived

Notes

Nonfiction, ages 7 to 10, grades 2-5. Can be used for lesson planning for younger students. Reconsideration of the Plymouth Thanksgiving narrative written and illustrated by Native creators (Passamaquoddy Tribe at Indian Township/Ojibwe of Minnesota).

Description

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" Do you know the true story of the Thanksgiving feast at Plimoth? What if you lived in a different time and place? What would you wear? What would you eat? How would your daily life be different? Scholastic's If You Lived... series answers all of kids' most important questions about events in American history. With a question and answer format, kid-friendly artwork, and engaging information, this series is the perfect partner for the classroom and...

15) Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun's Thanksgiving story

Author

Greendeer, Danielle

Notes

Ages 3 to 7. Telling of the story of the "first" Thanksgiving from an indigenous Mashpee Wampanoag perspective.

Formats:

Book, eBook, Kindle

Description

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Wampanoag children listen as their grandmother tells them the story about how Weeâchumun (the wise Corn) asked local Native Americans to show the Pilgrims how to grow food to yield a good harvest--Keepunumuk--in 1621.

16) Mii maanda ezhi-gkendmaanh: niibing, dgwaagig, bboong, mnookmig dbaadjigaade maanpii mzin'igning

Author

Luby, Brittany

Notes

Bilingual Anishinaabemowin/ English book. Ages 3 to 7. Themes: Changes of seasons , Anishinaabe foodways, grandparents.

Description

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"In this lyrical story-poem, written in Anishinaabemowin and English, a child and grandmother explore their surroundings, taking pleasure in the familiar sights that each new season brings. We accompany them through warm summer days full of wildflowers, bees and blueberries, then fall, when bears feast before hibernation and forest mushrooms are ripe for harvest. Winter mornings begin in darkness as deer, mice and other animals search for food, while...

17) My heart fills with happiness =: Sâkaskinêw nitêh miywêyihtamowin ohci

Author

Gray Smith, Monique

Notes

Ages 2 to 5. Bilingual Plains Cree/English book. Author and illustrator of Cree, Lakota and Scottish descent. Themes: finding happiness and thankfulness in the everyday.

Description

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"This dual-language book that celebrates happiness and invites children to reflect on the little things in life that bring them joy. In English and Plains Cree."--

18) On the farm, at the market

Author

Karas, G. Brian

Notes

Ages 5 to 9. Themes: community, food systems.

Description

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"On the farm, workers pick vegetables, collect eggs, and make cheese. At the market the next day, the workers set up their stands and prepare for shoppers to arrive. Amy, the baker at the Busy Bee Café, has a very special meal in mind--and, of course, all the farmers show up at the café to enjoy the results of their hard work"--

19) Thank a farmer

Author

Gianferrari, Maria

Notes

Ages 4-8. Themes: food systems, farms, thankfulness.

Description

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Bread, milk, wool, fruits, and vegetables: things that fill our day to day lives. But where, and who, do they come from? Across wheat fields and city rooftop gardens, mushroom beds and maple forests, Thank a Farmer traces the food and clothing that a family uses back to the people who harvested and created them. With Maria Gianferrari's informed and poetic text and monumental artwork from Monica Mikai, Thank a Farmer gently emphasizes the importance...

20) Thank you, Omu!

Author

Mora, Oge

Notes

Ages 3-6. Expressing thankfulness and community care.

Formats:

Book, eAudiobook, eBook, Kindle, Talking Book

Description

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When the aroma of Omu's homemade stew fills the air, her neighbors arrive, one by one, for a taste until all is gone except for her generous spirit.