Favorite Thanksgiving Books for Kids: 15+ Picture Books to Read Aloud

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When I was a classroom kindergarten teacher, I read a seasonal story or two to my sweet students every day after lunch. Every day in November, I would read aloud a few Thanksgiving books for kids. Sometimes the books were fictional tales involving silly turkeys. Other days the books were full of historical information about life in the New England colonies.

Thanksgiving books were some of my favorites because they contain such wonderful themes – family, gratitude, and acknowledging what is really important in life. What better messages to impart upon young minds? 

Every bookshelf should have a few Thanksgiving books for kids – even if they are from the library! I like to reserve them early before the holiday rush.

Favorite Thanksgiving Books for Kids

The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing

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This cute rhyming story tells the tale of a family preparing for Thanksgiving visitors. Kids are naturally drawn to the rhyming text.

It’s Thanksgiving by Jack Prelutsky

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This book is a compilation of Thanksgiving poems.  The titles include If Turkeys Thought, When Daddy Carves the Turkey, and Leftovers.

We read this book every year during our Thanksgiving tea with poetry.

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles M. Schulz

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This feels like a ‘new’ classic holiday story.  Charlie Brown and the gang have to figure out how to celebrate Thanksgiving with the cooking skills of 8-year-olds. They resort to preparing toast, jelly beans, pretzels, and popcorn. Honestly, many kids enjoy these snacks more than they enjoy a traditional Thanksgiving feast.

When I was a classroom teacher, we had a lot of fun reenacting the story with this Thanksgiving feast.

Read more: Charlie Brown Thanksgiving Activities

Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano

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Mr. Moose and Mrs. Moose are hosting Thanksgiving dinner, and they want a turkey at the table. Mr. Moose and a few animal friends explore the forest looking for a turkey. They finally find one who is very hesitant to go with Mr. Moose. When they finally all arrive home, Turkey is shocked to find that he is a guest and not the main course.

Read more: Fun Activities for A Turkey for Thanksgiving

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This silly turkey story begins with 10 fat turkeys sitting on a fence. They are being silly, and one by one, they fall off the fence. This is a great book for young children who are learning to subtract or count down from ten. I read it to my kindergarten math class, and they all enjoyed it.

Turkey in Disguise by Adam Wallace

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Turkey was invited to a November Ball, but she wants something to wear. She feels very plain and wants to feel beautiful. She tries a variety of creative costumes before her friends convince her that she is beautiful just the way she is. The back of the book includes a turkey in disguise project.

There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Turkey by Lucille Colandro

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This book is similar to the other ‘old lady who swallowed a’ books, but with a Thanksgiving twist. She swallows a turkey, a football, a hat, a balloon, a boat, wheels, and a cornucopia.

Bear Says Thanks by Karma Wilson

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Bear is bored and misses his friends. He decides to invite them over for a feast. Unfortunately, he realizes that his cupboards are bare. He has nothing to offer his friends. As each friend shows up with yummy food to share, Bear says thanks.

Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende Devlin

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Maggie and her grandmother celebrate Thanksgiving with two traditions: baking cranberry bread and inviting someone poor or lonely to Thanksgiving dinner. This year, Maggie invited Mr. Whiskers to Thanksgiving. Grandmother doesn’t like Mr. Whiskers and is worried that her cranberry bread recipe isn’t safe with him in the house. The cranberry bread recipe is included in the book so you can bake it and enjoy it together.

A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman

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This book was one of my kids’ favorite Thanksgiving books for kids when they were younger! A town, Squawk Valley, has found itself without a turkey for Thanksgiving. The townspeople decide to lure a turkey to town with a modeling job. However, Pete the turkey just may be too clever for their games.

Fancy Nancy: Our Thanksgiving Banquet by Jane O’Connor

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My daughter adored Fancy Nancy when she was in early elementary grades. She related to a character that loved dressing up. I liked that the Fancy Nancy books included new vocabulary words. In this story, Fancy Nancy and her family have traveled to her grandparents’ house for a fancy and delicious Thanksgiving banquet.

Time for Cranberries by Lisl H. Detlefsen

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Time for Cranberries by Lisl H. Detlefsen is one of my favorite Thanksgiving books for kids because it explains how cranberries are harvested. Even children who understand where our food is grown are typically surprised to learn that harvesting cranberries involves flooding the cranberry beds.

The Gratitude Jar by Katrina Lui

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Mina has noticed that her friends have things that she doesn’t – a bigger house, a fancy vacation, even pizza for dinner. Her mom helps her start a gratitude jar. Mina begins noticing things that she is grateful for, writes them down on a notecard, and puts the cards in a gratitude jar. Her family reads the notecards on Thanksgiving.

I created a gratitude jar with my kindergarten class one year, and it was a huge hit. I read a couple of notecards each day during snack time. I noticed that the kids began to really notice and appreciate all of the good things in their lives.

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This nonfiction picture book tells the story of how there came to be gigantic inflatable balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. Did you know that at one time the parade included live zoo animals? The author, Melissa Sweet, has shared an educator’s guide and an activity kit for Balloons Over Broadway.

Related: Balloons Over Broadway Activities

Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving by Laurie Halse Anderson

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Sarah Josephina Hale is pretty much the mother of Thanksgiving as we know it. She spearheaded a letter-writing campaign to convince President Abraham Lincoln to make Thanksgiving a national holiday. Without her efforts, we might not celebrate today.

Want to extend the learning? The author has put together a teacher’s guide to complement Thank You, Sarah.

Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac

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This story tells about the Patuxet Native American referred to as Squanto. It gives a good background to the events in the region before the English arrived.

1621: A New Look at Thanksgiving by Catherine O’Neill Grace and Margaret M. Bruchac

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This is one of the rare Thanksgiving books for kids that separates Thanksgiving myth from actual history. Kids can read about the Wampanoag people, the actual harvest, and what it was like to colonize the area. It is 48 pages long, so you may want to read it aloud over several sessions.

The Boy Who Fell Off the Mayflower or John Howland’s Good Fortune by P.J. Lynch

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John Howland was trying to get a little break from the stench below deck when a large wave threw him over the side of the Mayflower. Fortunately, a crew member saw the accident and was able to rescue him.

This book explains the harsh realities of Pilgrim life in a way that is interesting. This is another long picture book, so you will want to read it aloud over a few days.

I hope you enjoy these Thanksgiving books for kids with your family or students!

Keep reading . . .

• November Homeschool Activities
• Thanksgiving Homeschool Ideas
• Hosting a Thanksgiving Poetry Teatime
• Homeschool-Friendly Thanksgiving Science Experiments
• Thanksgiving Boredom Busting Basket

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