I have so many wonderful memories of reading to my children over the years. I am especially fond of the books we read every Holiday Season. The books sit in a large (HUGE) basket in the family room. Divided into categories…Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving. Just waiting to be read again and again each year. Surveying the family we have come up with our Top 11 Thanksgiving Book Favorites.
We hope you will enjoy reading them to your family!
Top 11 Thanksgiving Books
In my opinion, Clyde Bulla is one of the all-time best biography authors for children. We own many of his books and what is more important we read them again and again. Squanto Friend of the Pilgrims is for middle readers and is a book about friendship, yes it’s about the first Thanksgiving but more importantly, it is about the complex friendship between two different people groups and how the fellowship of men triumphs.
If You Were at the First Thanksgiving is chocked full of accurate information about what life was like in early America. The illustrations by Bert Dodson are charming and filled with interesting details. Teach your children about the real Thanksgiving we celebrate each year with this informative picture book.
The board book you want to get for your youngest children is My First Thanksgiving by Tomie dePaola. We own a really old copy and it is still around and we still love it!
Of Plymouth Plantation is the story of the first settlers from The Mayflower and how they were able to survive and flourish in a hostile land despite incredible odds. Enduring starvation, plague, internal and external conflicts, natural disasters, and countless other calamities, about a hundred of those first arrivals lived long enough to establish the foundational foothold that would grow into modern America. This is their story, penned as a journal during 1630-1651 by William Bradford, who was Plymouth Colony Governor five times for a period of nearly thirty years. This is a must-read for every American!
Across the Wide Dark Sea: The Mayflower Journey by Jean Van Leeuwen is an absolute gem and will captivate the attention of the entire family!
Discover the amazing true story of how one Native American’s suffering, generosity, and friendship led to the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims in this inspiring book! Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving: A Harvest Story from Colonial America of How One Native American’s Friendship Saved the Pilgrims Hear about Squanto’s personal story and learn about history at the same time. I highly recommend this Thanksgiving book!
Both Samuel Eaton’s Day and Sarah Morton’s Day are about a day in the life of a pilgrim boy and girl. What makes these books so special is the stunning photography and costuming. Read these charming books to let your very own boys and girls know what life would have been like for them if they lived with the pilgrims in Plymouth Massachusetts.
One of Plymouth Plantations’ fine publications, The Thanksgiving Primer will tell you absolutely everything you want to know about the very first Thanksgiving and then some! A resource book you don’t want to live without.
The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving is a classic! I love this story and have so many fond memories of snuggling with my kids near Thanksgiving reading this book. When my children and I were thinking about why we loved this book so much we couldn’t put it into words. Even if we can’t figure out why we love this story we just do! Maybe, your family will too!
Some kids just want the facts. Don’t Know Much About the Pilgrims is just that, all about the facts. My daughter with autism loved this book for that reason! If you have a fact-checker then you just might want to check this book out yourself.
I’ve saved my favorite for the last. Simply put, I love this book, and now that my children are almost grown I read it by myself every year. A kind of simple tradition that brings me much joy. The illustrations in The Thanksgiving Story by Helen Sewell are charming but the story by Alice Dalgliesh is beautiful. You get a real sense of the time period as well as how meaningful the day was to those weary pilgrims who had actually lived to see the day of this celebration. I highly recommend this book to you and your family! Check out Alice Dalgliesh’s other books HERE!
Looking for Simple Short Christian Book Reviews? Click HERE!
YOUR TURN…
What are your favorite Thanksgiving books?
Blessings,
*This post may contain affiliate links. Thank you for supporting The Peaceful Haven!
Good choices. Happy Thanksgiving.
That means a lot coming from a retired teacher!! Thank you for commenting!
So many great books, thanks!
Hope you and your family enjoy reading together!