What Is Thanksgiving?

by Harriet Ziefert, Claire Schumacher (Illustrations)

By helping her parents prepare a huge Thanksgiving feast for a large and loving extended family, Little Mouse gets a hands-on introduction to the holiday -- and so will young readers as they lift the flaps to join in the fun of the mouse family's Thanksgiving celebration.

Genres: Thanksgiving, Holiday, Picture Books

16 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

About the author

Harriet Ziefert grew up in North Bergen, New Jersey, where she attended the local schools. She graduated from Smith College, then received a Masters degree in Education from New York University.

For many years, Ziefert was an elementary school teacher. She taught most grades from kindergarten to fifth grade. "I liked it," she said, but she stopped teaching when she had her own sons. When her children were older, Ziefert wanted "a bigger arena" for her work. She went to work at a publishing company, Scholastic in New York City, developing materials for teacher's guides for kindergarten language arts and social studies programs.

"About twelve years ago," says Ziefert in a 1995 interview, "I tried to get a job as an editor, but no one would hire me as a trade editor. So I decided to write my own books." Since then, she has written several hundred books, mostly picture books and easy-to-read books. "I write books very quickly," she says, "in about twelve hours. I rewrite them three times over three days, and then they're done." She writes about twenty books a year.

Reviews

[Alyce Dougan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book gives a very simple definition of what Thanksgiving is. It tells basically what happened in the past ands tells what happens today. The pictures in the story are very cute and there are flaps that you lift up to see another picture. My kids really enjoyed this book.

[Dana · Rating 3 out of 5]

Simple pictures and easy to understand text! Great for reading to 3 to 4 year olds (early childhood) The flaps on each page add to the excitement of the story.

[TCNS]

2 copies available

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book simplifies our tradition so that the very young have an idea of what will happen on Thanksgiving Day. A few sentences of history, but mostly about being thankful, seeing relatives and preparing the meal.

Ages: 2 - 5

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Melissa Housholder · Rating 2 out of 5]

Book that briefly explains Thanksgiving in the simplest ways possible. There are flaps to lift and see what is underneath to help tell the story. I can't imagine using this for any grade above first.

[Linda Rusche · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute and very simple explanation of Thanksgiving. I bought it for my Granddaughter's 1st Thanksgiving, she's not even 1 yet.