Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner

Silly Tilly

by Lillian Hoban

I just remembered what I forgot cries forgetfull silly Tilly. I never cooked Thanksgiving Dinner. Ding-Dong. The guest are here! What will they eat?

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Holiday, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Humor

64 pages, Paperback

First published October 20, 1990

About the author

The youngest of three children, Lillian Hoban was born in Philadelphia on May 18, 1925. She attended the Philadelphia Museum School of Art, studied dance for ten years (and danced with the Martha Graham dancers), taught Modern Dance and danced professionally in the 1950s.
She learned to draw still life and began to write her own stories only after having children (Phoebe, Brom, Esme and Julia), and based her tales on their experiences.

Lillian Hoban's I-Can- Read-Books about Arthur the Chimpanzee, and the Frances books (written by her former husband Russell Hoban) continue to be extremely popular among children as time goes by- the hallmark of classics.

from http://www.lillianhoban.com/Biography...

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Part of the I Can Read beginning reader series, Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner is one of three Lillian Hoban holiday titles devoted to the adventures of this scatterbrained mole - the other two being Silly Tilly's Valentine and Silly Tilly and the Easter Bunny - and is an example of a particular type, in the world of children's literature: the story of a constantly mistaken heroine/hero, whose misadventures are meant to amuse. In this case, Silly Tilly is constantly forgetting things, sometimes in the middle of a task. Fortunately, her mistake, in sending out recipe cards rather than invitations, results in a happy Thanksgiving meal after all.

Somehow, although I could see what Hoban was doing here, with her tale, I wasn't as amused as I'd expected to be. This sort of things has been done far better, in Peggy Parish's Amelia Bedelia series, for instance, in which an overly literal maid is constantly getting into scrapes; or Jackie French Koller's Mole And Shrew chapter-books, which features a similarly literal mole. Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner probably would have gotten two stars, in fact, were I not so attached to Hoban's illustrative style (I grew up on her Arthur books, not to mention the Frances stories!), and impressed with the fact that it is a vegetarian-friendly Thanksgiving story. Still, it's a low three stars, and I recommend this primarily to those looking specifically for vegetarian holiday tales.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m so surprised I’d never heard of this book and that I’ve never seen it in any of my vegan catalogs that have vegan friendly books for children.

This book is designed for early readers but it can work as a read aloud book for pre-readers too.

Silly Tilly the mole is likely to appeal to children who very well may find her amusing, and there is humor in this book. I found myself getting impatient with Tilly so perhaps I wasn't in the best mood to read this book.

Tilly is planning to have her animal friends over for Thanksgiving dinner but various mishaps with recipes, invitations, and foggy glasses get in the way. Her friends end up showing up with dishes (a la potluck) that could all be construed as vegan. There is also a surprise guest who shows up at the end of the book with their food offering.

I wasn’t that engaged at the beginning or in the middle of this story but it won me over by the end. It’s definitely more interesting than some other early reader books and it’s especially terrific for vegan and vegetarian children (or children who will be partaking of a vegetarian/vegan meal) at Thanksgiving time.

[Rod Brown · Rating 2 out of 5]

We are invited to laugh at Silly Tilly Mole's dementia and poor vision as her plans for a Thanksgiving feast for all her friends somehow come together despite her inability to stay focused on them and her general lack of participation in the process.

My daughter liked the book was she was three, and twenty years later she still gets a kick out of "MR. TURKEY'S BEST EVER POPCORN."

[Jaymie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this at the dentist while waiting for my kid.
I miss little kid books. Ha ha 😂
I’m clearly bored sitting here.

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine, silly story about a forgetful mole and a serendipitous Thanksgiving meal.

[Peacegal · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a sweet beginning reader featuring the adventures of an absent-minded little mole. SILLY TILLY shares similar elements with the AMELIA BEDELIA series, and is geared toward the same age group.

Silly Tilly's woodland friends have a potluck celebration--with Mr. Turkey as a guest. After they feast on cranberry-, pumpkin-, and walnut-based treats, all of the friends gather together to enjoy the popcorn Mr. Turkey has popped for them.

This is a happy, peaceful story that once again reminds young readers that Thanksgiving is first and foremost about being with loved ones--and that we can share the love with our turkey friends, too!

[Lynn Davidson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cute story - level 1 reader - about forgetful Silly Tilly Mole trying to get ready for a Thanksgiving dinner with her friends. She couldn't find her recipes, which she had accidentally sent instead of her invitations, so when it was time for guests to arrive she had no meal prepared. Sweet ending. Nicely illustrated and easy for early readers.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Tilly, a nearsighted and forgetful Mole plans a Thanksgiving dinner, but as she forgets to remember to get things done Thanksgiving may pass her by. Mr. Bunny and friends come to her rescue, and her dinner is a success.

[Melissa Ganka-Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice read-aloud for pre-1st. Great for asking questions. What did Tilly forget? What is a list of directions for making food called? What is your favorite Thanksgiving food? What do you do after a Thanksgiving feast?

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty humorous as I believe Moles don't see well, hence the glasses. Tilly seems particularly scattered and distracted. She ends up sending recipes, instead of invitations, to her friends for Thanksgiving dinner and then falls asleep before making it. She gets a pleasant surprise when she wakes.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is SO ADORABLE!! Maybe not the best Thanksgiving story but too cute not to love. Wish I had found it when I was working at the preschool.

[Summer · Rating 5 out of 5]

A sweet story of a forgetful little mole who bumbles her way into hosting the best Friendsgiving ever!

[Bailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid, this was my absolute FAVORITE Thanksgiving story. I thought it was hilarious. I'd recommend it for preschoolers with long attention spans on up.

[Stephanie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Izzy said she gave it three stars because it wasn’t that interesting of a topic this time of year.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

Definitely not suitable as a group read aloud.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fun Friendsgiving story featuring a very forgetful mole.

[Kimberly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story

[Robert Drake · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great funny story. I love the pictures. This book would be great for a new 📖 reader.

[Ashley Steele]

This cartoon book is about Silly Tilly Mole that is inviting everyone to Thanksgiving dinner. Upon talking to Mr. Rabbit, she asked him to wait outside while she went inside to get his invitation and to give others theirs. Poor Silly, she ran into a tree and lost her glasses, mr.rabbit came to help her up only to sit on her glasses. Good thing they didnt break, she went inside her house and everything was foggy. She kept forgetting things and went to sleep. When she woke up, she was sad about thanksgiving dinner not being prepared but as her neighbors came over: they brought all the food!

I thought is was a really cute book about friendship and forgetfulness. I would recommend this book to a first grader, the pictures were very colorful and mimicked the season of Thanksgiving!The words are big enough for the student to sound out the words and the sentences are short and catchy.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

What a fun tale! Your beginning reader will enjoy the chuckles that Silly Tilly's forgetful antics afford!

Reading Level: 1st - 3rd

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Tilly wants to invite her friends over for Thanksgiving dinner, but she's so myopic and forgetful, that she ends up falling asleep and forgetting to cook the meal. Thankfully, her friends arrive with all the trimmings for a wonderful meal.

It's a silly story and Tilly makes so many mistakes, it's sadly comical. We enjoyed reading this book together. We've read this one a couple of times. There are two other books about Silly Tilly and I'm sure we'll get a chance to read them all.

[Rosa Cline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Tilly is an absent minded mole whom her neighbors and friends seem to love and care about quite a bit. She forgets very easily and started out cooking Thanksgiving dinner for her friends but instead they all cook for her; they all gather together for a wonderful Thanksgiving.

This is an "An I Can Read Book" I would put it a level 3 as some of the words maybe to big for a level 2 reader. Many words rhyme and many are repetitive.

[Andria · Rating 3 out of 5]

Amazing story about a group of animals that help Tilly create her Thanksgiving dinner. She at first forgets to send the invitations. So when she tries to correct this mistake she sends their recipes to them instead! They all bring their dishes which works out good since Silly Tilly had forgot to cook!

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great Thanksgiving book for a vegetarian family, or even a meat-eating family. Due to Silly Tilly's mistake, all the animals show up for dinner with various kinds of food. Then a real turkey shows up to eat with them, saying that it isn't a real Thanksgiving without a turkey!

[Ellen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is a cute and warm fable. The story is like an old animation, and the main character, Silly Tilly is silly but cute. Well, Thanksgiving Dinner without eating turkey is a little bit wierd, but the idea that turkey is bringing another food sounds good.

[Cristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good for vegetarians. Mr. Turkey sits down and eats with everyone else. I think it's a level 1 reading book but my 2-year old will sit through the whole story and is enjoying the illustrations.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a fan of "An I Can Read BookTM". My five year old daughter is just learning to read words but she loved it when I read "Silly Tilly's Thanksgiving Dinner" by Lillian Hoban.

[Marilyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun formula book for emerging readers. She hands out recipes instead of invites, forgets to make any food, but the friends show up with their dish.

[Deborah Harris]

AR Quiz No. 58146 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 2.6 - AR Pts: 0.5
Accelerated Reader Quiz Type Information AR Quiz Types: RP, RV, VP

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Silly Tilly Mole is near blind and forgetful. How will Thanksgiving supper turn out?