Thanksgiving Is Here!: A Joyous Story of Family, Commotion, and Wonderful Food for Kids

by Diane Goode

As soon as Maggie's grandma and grandpa get the turkey in the oven, bright and early on Thanksgiving morning, the guests arrive and the commotion glamorous aunts, crying babies, acrobatic cousins, strange dogs, mysterious gifts, romance, friendships, "yackety-yak"ing and, of course, lots of wonderful food and fun. You'll find a new story every time you read this joyous celebration of Thanksgiving!

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Family, Fiction, Food

32 pages, Paperback

Published August 16, 2005

About the author

Caldecott Honor children's book author/illustrator of over 55 picture books.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet Thanksgiving book about the joys of family during the holidays. This reminds me a little of our family gatherings. Everyone gets together for thanksgiving and the house is full and the food is good and grandma is at the center of it. The day is about being together. I feel this book captures that feeling of family.

The art was a mess. It didn’t do much for me, but I enjoyed the story. A simple day to be around people you love. The kids thought it was a good book too. They both gave the book 3 stars. I agree.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet, captured moments at Grandma's house at Thanksgiving. Aunts and uncles and cousins. Cooks and little helpers in a bustling kitchen. Laughs and warm, family love. It's all there and whimsically illustrated.

Ages: 4 - 8

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

2019 REVIEW: I'm bumping this is up to four stars. I read it to my sons and they loved it. They asked for multiple and immediate re-reads and were inspired to start moving furniture around in preparation for our Thanksgiving gathering, haha! ;-) I think the illustrations are just so fun and joyous, the love and camaraderie among the family gathering together just caught us up in the merriment and festivities. The illustrations are also wonderfully detailed and each time we read, we found something new! I hold with my original review that there is nothing particularly new or fresh about this story but sometimes, like holiday traditions themselves, the tried-and-true is quite satisfying.

2008 REVIEW: Cute enough. Somehow I failed to find any truly inspired (IMO) Thanksgiving books this year... But, this one certainly fits the bill as something cozy and enjoyable to read in honor of the day. Lots of fun pictures with friends-and-family galore all arriving at Grandma's house.

[Christine Kallner · Rating 3 out of 5]

There's A LOT to look for in the illustrations of this book beyond the text. I read it once to my son, then read the jacket description and realized just how poorly I was paying attention. I'm trying to learn more about picture book illustration in general and also making a better attempt to slow down and appreciate picture book artwork more, but I still have lots of room for improvement. I bet a little bit older kid would have no trouble finding all the stuff I missed.

[Roberta · Rating 4 out of 5]

There's not much to the story, but the illustrations are adorable. You get a real sense of the frenzy of Thanksgiving day at Maggie's grandparents' house. Thirty people at the dining room table, including grandparents, parents, aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends, all enjoy the holiday together.

I KNEW I had seen illustrations by Diane Goode before. Upon reviewing my list, I see she illustrated "Mind Your Manners". You really could spend hours looking at all the detail in her illustrations. There is such a feeling of joy and sense of movement in each one.

[Sherry Thornberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book reminded me off the hustle and bustle of my moms during Thanksgiving. There are people we only see on that day, at her house. They have tables made just for that one day a year they keep down in the basement. My mom told us this year though that she may not have it again. She is 67 and my dad is 68. Not only can they not afford it, they are too old to work that hard, I suppose the baton will be passed to me and my sister. Thats ok by me. But she will still have to make the dressing.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very fun Thanksgiving book to read! Filled with LOTS and LOTS of fun illustrations. Like the back says you can look through this book several times and never see all the things there is to see. This story takes you to Grandma's house for Thanksgiving along with all the extended family. How every helps out and how every celebrates etc. Just a really nice book. My almost 4 year old granddaughter and I enjoyed this together.

[Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best part of this book is the pictures. I feel like I'm watching my own family's Thanksgiving, and every time I read it, I see something else going on. I love how grandpa is the only one who can soothe the colicy baby.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book encapsulates the joy of gathering with a huge family for the Thanksgiving holiday. The illustrations show the hustle and bustle of many people joining each other and ends with grandmother and grandfather being satisfied and exhausted from a long, special day of entertaining.

[Heather · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don’t like the illustrations. Or the writing.
There’s no quotes, &it doesn’t say who’s talking, so I have no idea.
The second DINGDONG! was repetitive.
The cousins look too much like the first kids that got there. They have the same colored hair.
‘But whose dog is that? Come in. Come in!’ Who’s dog is it?? Who’s talking?
It’s weird they’re moving the furniture.
I thought it was cute how ‘At Grandma’s house the chairs don’t match…but we don’t mind.’ It reminded me of my family’s thanksgiving, where you grab all kinds of chairs to sit in.
‘Yackety-Yak! At Grandma’s house we all kick back. WAH, WAH!’ these sound effects aren’t good to read at all.
One guy towards the end of the table had a combover, and the part in his hair wasn’t connected to the other side of his head.
The only good mentioned were cranberries, and corn cakes--Idk corn cakes are--and then them spooning out gravy, but didn’t mention what they’re putting the gravy on.
It’s weird there’s a bird in a cage perched right in front of the kitchen cabinets.
While they’re drying dishes, one boy is bent over, passing a plate under his legs, which is just strange.
One red-haired woman looked angry in all her scenes. On the page where they’re relaxing with their shoes off, two people are both reading books, and peeking at each other. Why?
They’re going for a walk, and it says ‘Clickety-Clak!’ what’s making that noise, the stroller? Then they’re back to talking, ‘YICKETY-YAK.’ Then the bell: ‘DING-A-LING.’ It’s repetitive.
The music makes the noise ‘ZING, ZING, ZING.’ The man is playing a violin, so it definitely wouldn’t make that noise. I don’t know what instrument would make that noise.
Oh boy, now the boy-contortionist is bent over backward holding a plate up. This is so weird. &two women are holding the birdcage between them. Is it a gift? Are they enjoying it chirp?
It says they kiss goodbye, and this woman and man are kissing on the lips. If you’re kissing someone on the lips, it seems like you’re married, but they wouldn’t be saying bye to someone they’re married to. &if they’re not married, and it’s your family, you wouldn’t be kissing on the lips.
‘And we don’t cry, because EVERYONE’s going home.’ What a weird thing to say.
This was just a strange book. I really didn’t like the writing. There was like one good line, and the rest just sounded inane, and didn’t make for good reading.
Also, the pages didn’t show that it’s fall. There were no colors, decorations, or anything to really show the thanksgiving spirit. The book was about thanksgiving dinner, but I didn’t get that thanksgiving feeling. I was disappointed with this.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Talk about an abundant family-filled Thanksgiving! I love that the illustrations are very much of the golden-era, flapper-style. But the reason I continue to borrow this book every Thanksgiving for my children to read (4 years running!), is its depiction of the ideal Thanksgiving. Almost door-busting numbers of helpful, gleeful, merry family members gathering for a day of thanks at Grandma and Grandpa's accommodating home.

[Ina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had high hopes for this book as a story time read when I pulled it off the shelf. Colorful pictures and swoopy text looked interesting and everything that is Thanksgiving is here. There were sound words that usually add fun to a read aloud, but I never did quite find the rhythm of the text and only some of the text seems to rhyme. The kids liked this, but reacted to the other four books that I read in more enthusiastically.

[Laura Irrgang · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grandma and Grandpa welcome the family to their home on Thanksgiving Day. The house quickly fills with family, extended family, friends, and pets. The busy illustrations are the real star of this book, rendered in pen and ink with watercolor. They depict a riot of activity and a large cast of characters. Children will love following all the visual happenings in the images.

[Jackie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A delightful picture book full of all of the things that make memories at Thanksgiving...a house full of relatives, turkey in the oven, chit-chat, and of course, giving thanks!

With wonderful, heart-warming and memory inducing illustrations that will make you wish that Thanksgiving was near, Thanksgiving is Here! is perfect for read-aloud or storytime...or just snuggling.

[Kayla · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book would be great to have in my classroom. I like this book because I think students will be able to relate to it. Most students spend Thanksgiving with their family eating a lot of delicious food. Some children may do the activities that the family does in the book like gather around and talk and also play music.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

A sweet Thanksgiving story focused on food and family. The illustrations are the best part - there's a lot going on besides what's described in the text! Not good for storytime; best used one-on-one to really appreciate the details.

[Kathleen · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is such a cute book! I love the illustrations.

[Edna · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful story with 1940s cartoon illustrations will "ring" true for many intergenerational families who gather to cook, eat, clean, chat and play on Thanksgiving Day at Grandmother's house.

[Danica Midlil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great curl up in a lap read. I love the color-coded families! Makes it easy to follow characters around through the pages.

[Olson Family Matters · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, simple text, but the pictures contained a story within a story! I enjoyed studying the pictures while reading just as much as Madelyn did!

[Shirleen]

Very simple Thanksgiving story for little children. Illustrations are worth a second and third look.

[Michelle Farella · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice warm feeling, cheery holiday book. Can't see it working for ST though.

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet and cheery with an old fashioned feel.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really like this book. Love that the illustrations tell their own story as well as the story of the text.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story of Thanksgiving at Grandma's house. Short quick read good for younger children. No facts about thanksgiving though.

[Jazz Feylynn · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good children's reader to learn about the traditional thanksgiving dinner.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandparents get their home ready for relatives to come over and celebrate Thanksgiving.

Good for K-2.

[Elena Maddox · Rating 4 out of 5]

Huge family gathers for Thanksgiving. Good for toddlers or pre-K.

[Cori Dantio · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an amazingly cute book about family Thanksgiving. Can't wait to have my own kids so we can read this every Thanksgiving!

[Nathalie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't grow up in this country so my Thanksgiving memories are limited to my adult life. But this reminded of going to my husband's grandmother's for Thanksgiving -- the table with linens and real plates with nice decorations. And doing the dishes afterwards for a couple of hours because she only had human dishwashers! The women even wore dresses or skirts because Grandma did. But she made the best homemade rolls I've ever eaten! Later, when she passed, my husband really missed the feelings of those Thanksgivings, so we dressed up the tables with table cloth, nice real plates, real glasses with several tables all in a row, just like the author's illustrations!