Saturday, November 14, 2009

Books of the Week – November 14, 2009

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I want to share two fabulous Thanksgiving books today.
The first is The Thanksgiving Beast Feast by Karen Gray Ruelle.
imageThis is an early reader book,  but I’ve found the simple text of this type of book is perfect for a preschooler too.  It has 3 chapters, but don’t let that scare you – it’s a very quick read. 
Two children (cats actually) are learning about Thanksgiving.  They learn, briefly, the basics about the pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving feast.  They see animals that are hunting for food and decide to make a “beast feast” for them so they can have Thanksgiving too.  They make a variety of treats for the squirrels, birds, and chipmunks, and watch as the little animals enjoy their feast. :)  It’s really a cute little book and it has some great ideas for extension activities, like baking cookies and making treats for the animals.  M is really into watching the birds and squirrels lately, and we actually had a chipmunk in our house recently (another story entirely…) so we may do just that!
The only thing that bothered me a tiny bit about this book, was that it was focused on being thankful for our food, and that was given as THE reason for Thanksgiving.  While it’s true that the pilgrims did not have food and were thankful for the bounty they eventually received, I don’t feel that food is the main reason for being thankful.  In our home we try to be thankful for every blessing and thankful *to* God, who is never mentioned in this book.  However, it’s really a sweet book, and I feel comfortable reading it to M because he learns what we believe in many other ways.
The second Thanksgiving Book is Thanksgiving With Me, by Margaret Willey.image This book is so moving it brought tears to my eyes the first time I read it.  It is basically the story of a little girl who is asking her mother about the uncles who are coming to visit for Thanksgiving.  It gives an overall warm family feeling… most of us know the anticipation of seeing family whom we haven’t seen in a long while, and how special it is when this happens at holidays.  I love this book; however, if you are looking for an explanation of Thanksgiving, this one doesn’t talk about the pilgrims a single time.  It gives one the feeling of Thanksgiving in a wonderful way though!
For more book reviews, go here.
Have a beautiful day! :)

12 comments:

  1. Thanks for these reviews - both sound well worth reading!

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  2. My kids like the early readers too :)

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  3. We loved Thanksgiving with Me also! I am going to look for The Thanksgiving Beast Feast--I like that it is about cats. :)

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  4. We haven't read many early readers yet. We should really start on some and this one looks great. Thanks for the inspiration.

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  5. Selena enjoyed The Thanksgiving Beast Feast! I think it was one of her favorites, and she loved the idea it was a chapter book.

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  6. Great books! :) I just got us a few Thanksgiving books to try out this week.

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  7. So glad the Thanksgiving Beast Feast was a hit! We've got it in our pile for next week's Thanksgiving theme.

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  8. Thanksgiving already? I'm still in the Halloween mood....lol
    I agree that early readers are good for preschoolers just like some picture books are good for early readers. ;)My daughter is reading some picture books now.
    Stop by Smart Pumpkin Patch to pick up your award. It's waiting for you. :D

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  9. Interesting books - I haven't heard of either of them. I'll see if I can still get them in the library before Thanksgiving.

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  10. I read a lot of early readers to Bear. She loves them. Helps build up her attention span too. We love Frog and Toad ones and the Little Bear books. I just tried Henry and Mudge with her and she loved those too. If M likes dogs, he might like Henry and Mudge.

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  11. I read about Thanksgiving with Me somewhere else recently and I really want to read it.

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  12. I am the author of Thanksgiving With Me and I read your blog when I saw that you had mentioned my book! Authors do this, you know. I thought you might be interested to know that I grew up with six brothers and I have one beloved daughter and when I used to read the book aloud in schools and libraries, I always got choked up near the end when the little girl asks her mother if she misses "those brothers who lived with you?" It's a part of the book I can't read without a slight pause to compose myself. Funny, how powerful the elements of childhood holidays can be after so much time. Thank you for mentioning it. Cheers, Nicole & Happy Thanksgiving.

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