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Thanksgiving Poems
A collection of original poems by Valerie Worth, David McCord, and other contemporary poets, as well as two distinctive Indian poems, chronicles the religious as well as the secular aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday
32 pages, Library Binding
First published September 1, 1985
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29 people want to read
About the author
Myra Cohn Livingston
95 books15 followersMyra Cohn Livingston was born in Omaha, Nebraska. Her family moved to California when she was 12 years old. She studied the French horn from age 12 to age 20, becoming so good that the Los Angeles Philharmonic invited her to join them when she was 16 years old. She had other plans. She knew she wanted to write.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 7, 2009
Thanksgiving Poems
3 out of 5 stars
Cohn-Livingston compiled a short book of poems from various authors. There are only thirty-two pages in the book, and there are not poems on every page. Some of the poems discuss the history of America, and why we are able to have the thanksgiving holiday. One poem, entitled The First Thanksgiving, discusses the Mayflower, Plymouth Colony, and the Pilgrims. However, a good number of the poems discuss religion and giving thanks to God. This would have to be a book that was read aloud to the students, and the religious poems would have to be ignored and skipped over. Not all of the poems rhymed, which is why I will give the book a higher reading level. The images the reader conjures up are concrete; poems discuss trees, turkeys, families, and food. The theme for the book was thanksgiving; giving thanks, what happens when families congregate during thanksgiving, and the history of thanksgiving can all be found in the book. The illustrations were my favorite part of the book. Gammell uses dull watercolors throughout the book, which are blurred but powerful. He sticks to blues, oranges, and whites.
I gave the book three out of five stars because of the short selection and high amount of religion. Although there were a few, I would have liked to see more humorous poems as well. The reading level for the book would be between second and fifth grades. Some of the poems are thought-provoking and require the reader to ponder their meaning. I think the older students will be able to appreciate the humorous poems in the book, as well as have the ability to connect social studies to the history in the book. Two subject areas into which the book could be integrated could be social studies and health. For health, students could read the poem about the child eating one whole pie in one bite. We could discuss healthy eating habits and portion control.
3 out of 5 stars
Cohn-Livingston compiled a short book of poems from various authors. There are only thirty-two pages in the book, and there are not poems on every page. Some of the poems discuss the history of America, and why we are able to have the thanksgiving holiday. One poem, entitled The First Thanksgiving, discusses the Mayflower, Plymouth Colony, and the Pilgrims. However, a good number of the poems discuss religion and giving thanks to God. This would have to be a book that was read aloud to the students, and the religious poems would have to be ignored and skipped over. Not all of the poems rhymed, which is why I will give the book a higher reading level. The images the reader conjures up are concrete; poems discuss trees, turkeys, families, and food. The theme for the book was thanksgiving; giving thanks, what happens when families congregate during thanksgiving, and the history of thanksgiving can all be found in the book. The illustrations were my favorite part of the book. Gammell uses dull watercolors throughout the book, which are blurred but powerful. He sticks to blues, oranges, and whites.
I gave the book three out of five stars because of the short selection and high amount of religion. Although there were a few, I would have liked to see more humorous poems as well. The reading level for the book would be between second and fifth grades. Some of the poems are thought-provoking and require the reader to ponder their meaning. I think the older students will be able to appreciate the humorous poems in the book, as well as have the ability to connect social studies to the history in the book. Two subject areas into which the book could be integrated could be social studies and health. For health, students could read the poem about the child eating one whole pie in one bite. We could discuss healthy eating habits and portion control.
November 24, 2023
Prolific children's poetry anthologist Myra Cohn Livingston joins forces with Caldecott Honor-winning illustrator Stephen Gammell in this collection of seventeen Thanksgiving poems. Fourteen of the poems are original creations, from children's authors like J. Patrick Lewis (The Turkey's Wattle) and Jane Yolen (Pass the Plate), as well as hymn writers like George J. Elvey (Come, Ye Thankful People, Come); two are traditional Native American poems (one Osage, one Navajo); and one is Psalm 100, from the King James Bible...
Having read this editor/illustrator pair's subsequent 1989 Halloween Poems collection, I approached Thanksgiving Poems (published in 1985) with some interest. I am a great admirer of Gammell's artwork, whether that be the deliciously creepy illustrations in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (and sequels), or the more restrained but breathtakingly beautiful work he did in Olaf Baker's Where the Buffaloes Begin , which netted him a 1982 Caldecott Honor. That said, while I did enjoy the visuals here, much as I did with the Halloween book, I found the actual poems in this Thanksgiving collection a mixed bag. I didn't mind that many of them were religious in nature, as some other online reviewers have done, as I know the holiday has religious connotations for many people. But often the poems themselves just didn't speak to me. I enjoyed a few, including the marvelous Giving Thanks Giving Thanks by Eve Merriam, which was my favorite of the lot, but on the whole I don't know that I would strongly recommend this one. I think better collections, such as Lee Bennett Hopkins' Merrily Comes Our Harvest In: Poems for Thanksgiving , can be found for those seeking children's poetry for this holiday, and it is such titles that I would recommend instead.
Having read this editor/illustrator pair's subsequent 1989 Halloween Poems collection, I approached Thanksgiving Poems (published in 1985) with some interest. I am a great admirer of Gammell's artwork, whether that be the deliciously creepy illustrations in Alvin Schwartz's Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark (and sequels), or the more restrained but breathtakingly beautiful work he did in Olaf Baker's Where the Buffaloes Begin , which netted him a 1982 Caldecott Honor. That said, while I did enjoy the visuals here, much as I did with the Halloween book, I found the actual poems in this Thanksgiving collection a mixed bag. I didn't mind that many of them were religious in nature, as some other online reviewers have done, as I know the holiday has religious connotations for many people. But often the poems themselves just didn't speak to me. I enjoyed a few, including the marvelous Giving Thanks Giving Thanks by Eve Merriam, which was my favorite of the lot, but on the whole I don't know that I would strongly recommend this one. I think better collections, such as Lee Bennett Hopkins' Merrily Comes Our Harvest In: Poems for Thanksgiving , can be found for those seeking children's poetry for this holiday, and it is such titles that I would recommend instead.
October 29, 2018
1. Awards the book has received: none
2. Appropriate grade level: 2nd Grade
3. Original Summary: "Thanksgiving Poems" is a collection of poems for Thanksgiving compiled by Myra Cohn Livingston and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. The collection includes traditional Native American poetry mixed in with more contemporary pieces. Each poem has an illustration to accompany it.
4. Original Review: "Thanksgiving Poems" would not be appropriate for a public school classroom. There are a lot of references to religion throughout the poems. I found that only a small amount of the poems were age/ subject appropriate for 2nd graders.
5. Selections from this book could be used for poetry study around Thanksgiving. After reading a selected poem together the students could each illustrate a different line from the poem to put on display.
This book could also be used for modeling fluency in poetry. The students would hear the teacher recite the poems and have a better understanding of the ways poetry is read differently than other genres.
2. Appropriate grade level: 2nd Grade
3. Original Summary: "Thanksgiving Poems" is a collection of poems for Thanksgiving compiled by Myra Cohn Livingston and illustrated by Stephen Gammell. The collection includes traditional Native American poetry mixed in with more contemporary pieces. Each poem has an illustration to accompany it.
4. Original Review: "Thanksgiving Poems" would not be appropriate for a public school classroom. There are a lot of references to religion throughout the poems. I found that only a small amount of the poems were age/ subject appropriate for 2nd graders.
5. Selections from this book could be used for poetry study around Thanksgiving. After reading a selected poem together the students could each illustrate a different line from the poem to put on display.
This book could also be used for modeling fluency in poetry. The students would hear the teacher recite the poems and have a better understanding of the ways poetry is read differently than other genres.
July 27, 2018
Some of my favorites: Come, Ye Thankful People Come (13) and Giving Thanks Giving Thanks (30).
January 15, 2011
My favorite of the poems was Jake O'Leary's Thanksgiving. Many of the poems do have religious themes, Christian and an Osage song used during a religious ceremony.
January 18, 2016
Nice collection of children's poems.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews