Thanksgiving

Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations

by Ann Heinrichs

Thanksgiving is turkey, pumpkin pie, family gatherings, and a celebration of all the good things for which we're grateful. But how did out modern-day Thanksgiving traditions get their start? What was the first Thanksgiving like? Informative text and creative illustrations help kids learn the answer to this and more!

Genres: Holiday, Thanksgiving, Nonfiction

Library Binding

First published January 1, 2006

About the author

Ann Heinrichs is the author of more than 200 books for children and young adults. They cover U.S. and world history and culture, science and nature, and English grammar. Ann has also enjoyed careers as a children’s book editor and an advertising copywriter. An avid traveler, she has toured Europe, Africa, the Middle East, and East Asia. Born in Fort Smith, Arkansas, she now lives in Chicago. She enjoys biking, kayaking, and flying kites.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

The entire lyrics for the song 'Over the River, and through the woods..' is in the back of this book. I don't know if I have heard all the verses; there are a lot. I also enjoyed that the history of this book widened its scope some and told about Greek and Roman cultures and how they gave thanks; not exhaustive, and it's nice. There are also some recipes in the back of the book.

The art, well, it's my style. It has a warm style and it feels to simple to me. Not for this beholder.

There isn't a real through story so the kids weren't crazy about this book. It was a little dry for them.

[Kasey · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was about the thanksgiving holiday and how it came to be a holiday. It talks about all the traditional foods and decorations used for this holiday. I liked how it talked about the history behind the holiday. It was a good reminded of why we celebrate Thanksgiving in the first place.
I paired this book with the fiction book "Thanksgiving Thief" by Carolyn Keene. It is a Nancy Drew book, which I remember reading as a kid. It is about how the thanksgiving feast and traditions are disappearing and how someone is trying to destroy the holiday. I thought this would make a good pair to the nonfiction book because Thanksgiving may be a students' favorite holiday and knowing more about the holiday would be enjoyable. They could also take the fun facts about the holiday and apply it to the fiction book as they read.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thanksgiving: Holidays, Festivals, & Celebrations is a fact book full of definitions, customs, recipes, and poetry about this special holiday. Celebrated by Americans on the fourth Thursday in November, it is a special time of giving thanks for family, food, and fun.


Used for "We Are Thankful" Storytime-November, 2010.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have liked to have given this a five but it contains errors about the pilgrims. The pilgrims did not wear buckles on their clothes nor were their clothes black-and-white on that "first" thanksgiving day.

[Elizabeth Mclatchy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative. Lovely poetry throughout.