Thanksgiving Picture Books

A selection of picture books for the Thanksgiving season, highlighting celebrations of all kinds.
Updated October 2, 2022
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The Thanksgiving door
Atwell, Debby.
Paper Book
When Ed and Ann's turkey dinner burns, they think their Thanksgiving is ruined. But what appears to be a disaster becomes a blessing in disguise when Ed and Ann unknowingly intrude on an immigrant family's own Thanksgiving celebration at their new restaurant, The New World Café. Once...
Over the river and through the wood : the New England boy's song about Thanksgiving day
Child, Lydia Maria
Paper Book
Matt Tavares's lavish illustrations illuminate this definitive edition of a beloved seasonal classic.The horse is ready, the air is bracing, and everyone is bundled into the sleigh. So let the wind blow and the snow start to fall! This family is off to Grandfather's house for a delicious feast. Matt...
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Devlin, Wende.
Paper Book
Today was Thanksgiving, Grandmother's favorite day of the year. The cooking was done and her famous cranberry bread was cooling on the wooden board. Every year Grandmother invited a guest for dinner and allowed Maggie to do the same. "Ask someone poor or lonely," she always said. She wasn...
Thank you, Sarah : the woman who saved Thanksgiving
Anderson, Laurie Halse.
Paper Book
From the author of Speak and Fever, 1793, comes the never-before-told tale of Sarah Josepha Hale, the extraordinary "lady editor" who made Thanksgiving a national holiday! Thanksgiving might have started with a jubilant feast on Plymouth's shore. But by the 1800s...
Balloons over Broadway : the true story of the puppeteer of Macy's Parade
Sweet, Melissa
Paper Book
From Caldecott Honor artist Melissa Sweet comes the perfect Thanksgiving Day picture book. Let's have a parade! Meet the master puppeteer who invented the first balloons for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Melissa Sweet brings to life the inspirational story of the puppeteer who...
Thanksgiving treat
Stock, Catherine.
Paper Book
Join one special family as they get together to create some tasty Thanksgiving treats in this charming holiday story. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, everyone is very busy. Grandma is stuffing the turkey. Dad is chopping firewood. The cousins are shucking corn. But the...
A Thanksgiving wish
Rosen, Michael
Paper Book
After her grandmother Bubbe's death, Amanda is worried that Thanksgiving will never be the same. But when she recalls Bubbe's favorite custom -- having her grandchildren make wishes on wishbones she had saved up throughout the year -- Amanda and her family discover the power and comfort embedded in...
Turkey trouble
Silvano, Wendi J.
Paper Book
Turkey is in trouble. Bad trouble. The kind of trouble where it's almost Thanksgiving...and you're the main course. But Turkey has an idea--what if he doesn't look like a turkey? What if he looks like another animal instead? After many hilarious attempts, Turkey comes up with the...
Thanksgiving in the Woods
Alsdurf, Phyllis
Paper Book
A true holiday classic, this cozy autumn story invites readers to join in an outdoor Thanksgiving feast, full of cheer and generosity of spirit Every year a family and their friends gather in the woods to celebrate Thanksgiving among the trees. Everyone brings something to share and the...
Thanksgiving at the Tappletons'
Spinelli, Eileen.
Paper Book
You're invited! Join the Tappletons, the nicest bunch of wolves ever, for a very special Thanksgiving meal. Everyone has a job to do. Mrs. Tappleton is making the turkey. Mr. Tappleton is buying the pies. Kenny is in charge of the salad. Jenny is mashing the potatoes. It seems like...
Duck for Turkey Day
Jules, Jacqueline
Paper Book
It's almost Thanksgiving, and Tuyet is excited about the holiday and the vacation from school. There's just one problem: her Vietnamese American family is having duck for Thanksgiving dinner - not turkey! Nobody has duck for Thanksgiving - what will her teacher and the other kids think? To her...
Sarah gives thanks
Allegra, Mike.
Paper Book
During the nineteenth century, Sarah Josepha Hale dedicated her life to making Thanksgiving a national holiday, all while raising a family and becoming a groundbreaking writer and women's magazine editor. Sarah Hale's inspiring story, accompanied by luscious watercolor illustrations, tells the tale...
Squanto's journey : the story of the first Thanksgiving
Bruchac, Joseph
Paper Book
In 1620 an English ship called theMayflowerlanded on the shores inhabited by the Pokanoket people, and it was Squanto who welcomed the newcomers and taught them how to survive in the rugged land they called Plymouth. He showed them how to plant corn, beans, and squash, and how to hunt...
The memory cupboard : a Thanksgiving story
Herman, Charlotte.
Paper Book
For Katie, nothing compares to Thanksgiving at Grandma's. There are the aunts and uncles, whom Katie loves to see each year. But a cherished object is broken at dinner, and Katie blames herself for spoiling the day.
Sharing the bread : an old-fashioned Thanksgiving story
Miller, Pat Zietlow.
Paper Book
Celebrate food and family with this heartwarming Thanksgiving picture book. We will share the risen bread. / Our made-with-love Thanksgiving spread. / Grateful to be warm and fed. / We will share the bread. In this spirited ode to the holiday, set at the turn of the twentieth century, a large...
The Berenstain Bears and the prize pumpkin
Berenstain, Stan
Paper Book
Join the Berenstain Bears as they celebrate Thanksgiving and count their blessings. Makes a perfect gift with over 50 bonus fall-themed stickers! This Berenstain Bears story is a perfect way to teach children about what they should truly be thankful for. Come for a visit in Bear...
Milly and the Macy's Parade
Corey, Shana.
Paper Book
Milly, a spirited little girl, envisions a way to bring a bit of her family's old country festivities to their new home in America. Featuring artwork by the illustrator of the Lemony Snicket books, this heartwarming fictional tale is based on the true history of the first Macy's Parade in 1924 and...
Rivka's first Thanksgiving
Rael, Elsa.
Paper Book
To the Rabbi Yoshe Preminger, Sir, My Bubbeh believes you are the wisest man in the whole world, but I cannot agree with her. You have read a thousand books, but you do not seem to understand that immigrants came to America to escape from mean, wicked people who hurt them and their families. That...
Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade : a Thanksgiving story
Noble, Trinka Hakes
Paper Book
In 1918 a deadly influenza epidemic was sweeping across America. The pandemic ravaged families, leaving thousands of children as orphans. But in the tenement apartments of New York City's Lower East Side, one young girl is determined to keep her family safe. While her mother is sick with consumption...
Fangsgiving
Long, Ethan
Paper Book
Geisel Award-winning author and illustrator Ethan Long turns his attention to the day of thanks with a story that's to die for. It's the fourth Thursday of November, and the members of Fright Club are cooking up something spooky . . . a Thanksgiving feast! But...
'Twas the night before Thanksgiving
Pilkey, Dav
Paper Book
From Dav Pilkey, creator of the New York Times bestselling Dog Man and Captain Underpants series, comes a tall tale of tall-tailed toms!School children on a field trip to Mack Nugget's farm save the lives of eight turkeys in this poem based on "The Night Before Christmas."
Arthur's Thanksgiving
Brown, Marc Tolon.
Paper Book
Arthur has been picked to direct his school's Thanksgiving play. His most important job is assigning the parts. Francine demands she be the narrator, her voice is the loudest, and Buster, Brain and Muffy have already picked their roles. What will Arthur do when he realizes everyone wants to be...
Franklin's Thanksgiving
Paulette Bourgeois
Paper Book
In this Franklin Classic Storybook, our young hero likes everything about Thanksgiving, from eating pumpkin-fly pie to making cornucopias. But what he likes best is having his Grandma and Grandpa share the holiday with him and his family. This year, however, his grandparents are traveling abroad....

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