15 Best Thanksgiving Story Books To Read For Kids In 2022

If you want your child to learn about Thanksgiving, we have created a list of the best Thanksgiving storybooks for kids to help you out. Thanksgiving is a day where we express gratitude towards God and thank our family and friends for their unconditional support and love. These storybooks include heartwarming stories about turkeys, family values, friendships, sharing, and more to help your child understand the day’s importance. Your child will appreciate the tradition and culture better through these storybooks.

So, if your child loves reading or you want to keep them away from screens, these storybooks can be a good choice. Explore the list to choose a book that suits your child’s preferences.

Best Thanksgiving Books For Kids:

Here is our collection of ten Thanksgiving books for children that will teach your kid the importance of gratitude and kindness.

1. Best Story About Turkeys: Over The River: A Turkey’s Tale:

Over The River: A Turkey’s Tale by kid’s author Derek Anderson is a twist to the traditional Thanksgiving song. The story revolves around a turkey family traveling to their Grandma for a vegetarian Thanksgiving feast. On the way, they come across a hunter who wants to make a delicious meal out of these turkeys. So the turkeys have to think fast before they become the main course of the young lad’s Thanksgiving feast.

2. Best Historical Story: The Pilgrim’s First Thanksgiving:

Your little tot will love learning about the history of Thanksgiving and the journey of the pilgrims in this book. Oh, and not to forget the amazing first Thanksgiving treat. Ann McGover’s has used simple texts for the book, so children can read this book independently.

3. Best Story With Pictures: Gobble Gobble:

Gobble Gooble, a picture book by Cathryn Falwell tells the story about a little girl Jenny and her observation of the wild turkeys in her neighborhood. The book also includes a four-page afterword that describes the difference between the wild and domestic turkeys. This enjoyable book also includes activities and quizzes for children.

4. Best Unique Perspective: Ankle Soup:

Here’s another picture thanksgiving book for kids. “Ankle Soup” by Maureen Sullivan gives a dog’s ankle high perspective on Thanksgiving in New York City. Through the richly hued paintings, your kiddo will join Carlos, the French bulldog for a taxi ride through the city- passing from Macy’s Thanksgiving parade to the Grand Central Station.

5. Best Story For Little Girls: Junie B. First Grader – Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten:

Junie B. First Grader – Turkeys We Have Loved and Eaten will make a welcome read for children, especially little girls. There’s a contest in the school to see which class can write the best thankful list. But writing a thankful list is not as easy as it sounds, especially for Junie. Going through the grateful list of the kids will surely elicit loads of giggles from your tot.

6. Best Parody Story:  ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving:

‘Twas, the Night Before Thanksgiving, is a hilarious parody of Clement Moore’s classic Christmas poem. In this kids’ thanksgiving book, eight boys and girls take a field trip to a turkey farm just the day before Thanksgiving. Children were having a great time playing with the exuberant turkeys when they learn that Farm Mack Nugget was planning to kill all the turkeys for Thanksgiving dinner. The children smuggle all the turkeys home and declare it a vegetarian holiday.

7. Best Pilgrim Story: Mary’s First Thanksgiving:

All it takes is a little faith! Mary, a modern-day pilgrim, loves her new home in America, but its Thanksgiving and Mary’s family do not have ample food. So she wishes to go back to Ireland. Then Mary’s father tells her the story of how the Pilgrims struggled when they first stepped in America. The pilgrims had barely enough food to eat, just like her family. The legends of the Pilgrim survival grow in a new faith in Mary.

8. Best Popular Thanksgiving Story: Pete The Cat: The First Thanksgiving:

This will surely be one of the favorite thanksgiving books for children. Starring in a Thanksgiving play could make even the coolest of cats nervous, but not Pete. Pete gets on the stage and makes learning the story of the first Thanksgiving immensely fun. The book has 13 flaps that open up to reveal some hidden surprises.

9. Best Family-Friendly Story: The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings:

The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings, by Mike, is the latest book in the Berenstain Bear collection. Take your child on a journey to Gramp and Gran’s house along with Brother and Sister and teach them about being thankful for health, family and the huge feast awaiting them. The book also contains a sheet of colorful sticker featuring the whole Berenstain family.

10. Best For Toddlers: My First Thanksgiving:

“My First Thanksgiving” is a short and colorful book by kid’s beloved author Tomie DePaola. The bright illustrations and simple texts perfectly capture the joy of Thanksgiving. It’s a fantastic Thanksgiving introduction book for toddlers and preschoolers.

Wonderful Thanksgiving Stories For Kids:

1. Cold Turkey:

On a Monday before the Thanksgiving, Bobby Evans collapsed in a general store. The other customers gathered before him, and the first aid was summoned. But Bobby was in a serious condition. Blood was coming out of the ear, and his face was white. The medical team soon arrived, and the first thing it did was remove Bobby’s hat. To their amazement, they found a partially frozen turkey inside his hat.

The chilled turkey had numbed Bobby’s brain, and he collapsed. The blood rushed from the giblets melted and leaked down to his ears. The manager took pity of the shoplifter and instead of prosecuting him, gave him the partially thawed turkey. Two days later, the manager received a letter from Bobby, apologizing for his behavior and thanking him for his gesture. The envelope also included $15, the price of the turkey.

2. A Piece Of Pumpkin Pie:

8-year-old Sally lived in the countryside with her family and hardly had any visitors from the city. One day, Sally’s mother informed her that daddy was bringing two guests for Thanksgiving supper. Everyone enjoyed the delicious turkey together, and now it was time for pumpkin pie. Sally went to the kitchen to help her mother with the pie. She proudly presented the first piece of pumpkin pie to her father, but he passed the plate to one of the guests. Sally came with the second slice of pie and father gave it to another guest. It was getting too much for little Sally, who blurted out, “It is of no use, Father. All the pieces are of the same size”.

3. The Ears Of Wheat:

“Ages ago, narrated a German grandmother, the ground was much more fruitful that it is now. The stalks of wheat bore not just 40 or 50, but more than a thousand fold. The wheatears of the stalk grew from the bottom to the top. But humans forgot that it was a blessing of the almighty and began taking things for granted.

One day, a woman was walking through the wheat field with her daughter. Her little girl fell into the puddle and spoiled her frock. The woman tore a handful of wheatears and started cleaning the girl’s dress with it.

Just then, an angel passed by and was shocked seeing the scene. He cursed that the wheat stalks will no more produce ears. “You humans are not worthy of the Heaven’s gift.” On hearing this, the peasants fell on their knees and pleaded the angel to take back his curse, at least for the sake of little birds who will otherwise perish of hunger. The angel pitied the little birds and granted a part of their pleadings.

4. Who Ate My Doll’s Dinner?

“Why cannot my dolls have a Thanksgiving feast just like us mama?” asked Susan Pine. “I don’t know darling,” chuckled mama. “Go and dress them up in their best clothes, dust the doll house and arrange the table. I’ll get them dinner before we head downstairs”. “Really!” exclaimed Susan.

Susan had a beautiful and huge doll house. It had a beautiful front door and tall chimney. The windows of the house had stunning lacy curtains. It even had a little piazza. Susan dusted the rooms and set the table with the finest cutlery. She even put a teeny-weeny vase in the middle of the table, with two little violets in it.

After cleaning, the Susan dressed Polly, her doll in pink muslin dress, Sarah in gray velvet and Jonah in yellow silk. Susan even taught them basic table manners like how one should not eat with the knives and not leave the teaspoon in the cup while drinking tea. Just then, Mommy arrived with sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner for the dolls. There were yummy little dishes of mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie. Susan arranged the dinner on the table and rushed down to dress up in her finest dress.

Instead of going back to the meet the dolls, Susan went downstairs to meet her uncle who could turn the table napkin into a white rabbit.

It was dessert time when Susan remembered about the dolls’ dinner. She jumped down from the chair and asked mommy’s permission to go upstairs to see if the dolls had eaten their dinner or not.

To her surprise, the front door of the dollhouse was open. The dolls sat there just as Susan had left, but the dinner was all gone. “Now, this is funny,” said daddy.

Just then, Susan heard a scratching noise in the doll house. A gray mouse appeared from under the table. There was another tiny mouse under the sofa and third one under Polly’s bed. Susan stood surprised while others laughed their lungs out.

5. The Other Side Of The Signboard:

A little blind boy sat on the stairs of a building, holding up a sign, “I’m blind. Please help me!” He even had a hat by his side, which had just a few coins.

After a few hours, a man came and stood beside the child. He took out a few coins from the pocket and dropped in the kid’s hat. He then took the sign, turned it around and wrote a few words. He put the sign back so that other people could read the new sign.

The hat soon began to fill up with notes and coins. That same afternoon, the man who changed the sign came to see how things were going.

The boy recognized the footsteps of the man and asked him “Were you the one who changed my sign board this morning? What did you write?”

The man replied ‘I only wrote the truth, but in a different way. The sign read, “Today is a beautiful day, but I cannot see it”.

Both the signs meant the same. But the first sign implied that the boy was blind and the second sign said that people were lucky that they were not blind. No wonder the second sign was so effective!

We hope these beautiful short Thanksgiving stories for kids will inspire your kid in the best possible way. What are your most favorite thanksgiving stories for children? And which of these stories appealed to your kid the most? Tell us by commenting below!

Why Trust MomJunction?

Wedetso Chirhah is an avid reader and reviewer of books. Here, he has compiled a highly informative list of the most wonderful thanksgiving storybooks for kids. Thanksgiving is all about showing love and gratitude towards your loved ones, and there’s no better way to teach your little ones more about it than through stories. Furthermore, Wedetso has provided a brief description of each book to help you pick the right one. He has also considered reader reviews to ensure the books are appropriate and to offer an unbiased opinion.

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