PICTURE BOOKS                                                                                          

                   Roberts, Bethany.  (2001).  Thanksgiving Mice.  New York, NY:  Houghton Mifflin                                     Company.

        A group of mice put on a Thanksgiving play for their friends.  The story of the first Thanksgiving is told when the pilgrim  mice travel across the sea and settle in America.  


                  Brown, Mark.  (1983).  Arthur's Thanksgiving.  Boston: Little Brown and Company.

        Arthur has been chosen to be the director of the Thanksgiving play that his class will perform.  Arthur has to assign parts for the play, but he runs into some problems when no one wants to be the turkey.  Arthur begs all his friends to play the part of the turkey, but no one wants to be caught in that turkey costume.  Arthur oly has one day left before the performance and he realizes he has no other choice than to be the turkey himself.  Arthur ends up  surprising everyonewith his performance.


                 Anderson, Laurie Halse.  (1996).  Turkey Pox.  Morton Grove, IL:  Albert Whitman                                  and Company.

        Thanksgiving is Charity's favorite day, and she's been waiting since last Thanksgiving to go to her Nana's house.  When Thanksgiving finally comes, Charity gets the chicken pox, and her family has to stay home.  This means they can't go to Nana's house and eat their favorite thing of all - turkey!  Suddenly, there was a knock on their door, it was Nana!  She decided to bring her turkey to their house so they could still have Thanksgiving together.  What Charity doesn't know is that Nana has a little surprise for her!


                    Gibbons, Gail.  (1983).  Thanksgiving Day.  New York, NY:  Holiday House                                                 Publishing.

        This is a story about the first Thanksgiving and how it all began.  It tells about the traditions and why we celebrate it.  It also tells a story about how Thanksgiving is celebrated today.

    INFORMATIONAL BOOKS                                                                            

        Bartlett, Robert Merrill.  (2001).  The Story of Thanksgiving.  USA:  Harper Collins                                  Publishing.

        This book tells us about what Thanksgiving means to us today.  You learn about how Thanksgiving is celebrated all over the world.  You also find out what traditions have been passed on and are still celebrated today.  


      Roop, Peter and Connie.  (1999).  Let's Celebrate Thanksgiving.  Brooksfield,                                         Connecticut:  The Millbrook Press.

        This book includes questions and answers about the history of Thanksgiving.  It also includes fun jokes and riddles.  You can learn about the way other people celebrate from around the world. There are also some neat Thanksgiving activities and ideas.  


     Erickson, Paul.  (2001).  Daily Life in the Pilgrim Colony 1636.  New York, NY: Clarion                             Books.

        This book describes the daily life of a pilgrim including many detailed illustrations.  It describes the duties of each family member, including the children, and their roles in the community.  The book also includes a detailed timeline and a glossary of new terms.  

    
 CHAPTER BOOKS

                            Hintz, Martin.  (1996).  Thanksgiving.  Why We Celebrate It The Way We Do.  USA:                                 Capstone Press.

        This book explains the history of how many different people have affected the way Thanksgiving is celebrated.  You learn about the pilgrims and the important people who helped to make Thanksgiving a national holiday.  


          Cohen, Barbara.  (1999).  Molly's Pilgrim.  New York, NY:  Morrow William and                                         Company.

        Molly and her family just moved to America from Russia.  In her third grade class, the other students make fun of her clothes and the way she talks.  Molly's teacher gives the class a project to do about Thanksgiving.  Molly's assignment is to make a Pilgrim out of a clothespin.  This is a problem for Molly because she has never even heard of Thanksgiving.  When Molly goes home, her mother helps her with her project.  When Molly brings the Pilgrim to school the next day, the other students laugh at her work.  Molly explains to the class why she made her Pilgrim the way she did and with the help of her teacher, the class realizes that Molly is right.  After this project, Molly has proved to her class that she is just like everyone else.


      MacMillan, Dianne.  (1997).  Thanksgiving Day.  Springfield, NJ:  Enslow Publishers.

        This book explains the history of Thanksgiving and how it is celebrated.  This book is part of a series called Best Holiday Books.  


        Osborne, Mary Pope.  (2002).  Thanksgiving on Thursday.  New York, NY: Random                              House Inc.  (Magic Treehouse #27)

        Jack and Annie sail back in time to celebrate Thanksgiving.  When they end up in Pilgrim's clothes, they suddenly realize that they have been sent back to 1621 to celebrate the first Thanksgiving feast.  They get to meet the Pilgrims and Indians in the New Plymouth Colony.

        Click on the following link for more Magic Treehouse books.


FOLKTALES / LEGENDS                       

                                                                                                                                 
                               Wing, Natasha.  (2001).  The Night Before Thanksgiving.  East Rutherford, NJ:                                          Penguin Putnam Books.

        This is a story based around the theme from Clement C. Moore's The Night Before Christmas.  You get to follow along with this family's Thanksgiving celebration.  


POETRY

       Prelutsky, Jack.  (1982).  It's Thanksgiving.  New York, NY:  Scholastic Inc.

        This book is full of Thanksgiving poems.  Each page is filled with illustrations and the poems are informational and funny.

        Livingston, Myra Cohn.  (1985).  Thanksgiving Poems.  New York, NY:  Holiday House.

        This books contains a collection of poems from a variety of sources.  There are all different kinds of poems in this book.  Some poems are funny, and some are serious.  


BIOGRAPHY

                                                                                                                                                                                                  
                            Bulla, Clyde..  (1990).  Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims.  New York, NY:  Scholastic.

        Learn all about Squanto's life and how he helped the Pilgrims when they arrived in Massachusetts.  Squanto taught the Pilgrims to fish, hunt, plant and harvest.  He became their friend and helped them guide them and teach them new things.  

        Waters, Kate.  (1993).  Sarah Morton's Day.  New York, NY: Scholastic.

        Nine year old Sarah Morton takes you through a day in her life.  Follow along as she milks goats, prepares meals, and completes all her chores.  You also learn about how Sarah arrived at the Plymouth Plantation on the Mayflower and what that experience was like for the children at that time.

        Waters, Kate.  (1996).  Tapenum's Day.  New York, NY:  Scholastic.

        Learn about the what the life of a Wampanoag Indian boy who lived in the 1600's is like.  Throughout the story you learn about their clothes, food, weapons, and the duty each family member had in their community.  Pictures and stories are re-created to help teach us about what life was like for the Wampanoag Indians.


TEACHING RESOURCES

Thanksgiving Resources for Teachers
This website has lesson plans, activities and worksheets all about Thanksgiving.  There are units and lesson plans for kindergarten through sixth grade.  You can find information on Pilgrims, Indians, the Plymouth Plantation, maps and many other related topics.  This is an excellent resource!

Thanksgiving Ideas Galore!   
This web site offers many ideas and activities about Thanksgiving.  Learn some new arts and crafts ideas or some new Thanksgiving games.  There is also a list of more Thanksgiving books and other ways to get students interested in the history of Thanksgiving.