Fangsgiving
Author: Ethan Long
Illustrator: Ethan Long
Summary: Vlad and his Fright Club friends work together to prepare a Thanksgiving feast, but what happens when unexpected ghastly twists are added to the traditional meal? Who is going to eat all this stuff?
Recommended Ages: 3-7 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: After an argument, the family and friends realize that what matters is being together. They work together to fix the ruined dinner by creating new meals from strange leftovers, like "turkey bone biscuits" and "flea bean dip". This fun story could be a jumping off point for discussions of how to compromise, problem solve and naming what is truly important.
Extension Activities: There are several writing and illustrating prompts for our funny Thanksgiving story: "What I'm grateful for" journal entry: Write about what you are thankful for, connecting to the book's message. "Fix the disaster" challenge: Brainstorm solutions to save the monster's ruined Thanksgiving. Draw a monstrous meal: Illustrate and describe a strange and spooky dish. Follow the link below for some fun, virtual activity sheets by the author! Click here!
This First Thanksgiving Day: A Counting Story
Author: Laura Krauss Melmed
Illustrator: Mark Buehner
Summary: This gorgeous holiday book celebrates the first Thanksgiving through a rhyming, counting narrative, following Pilgrim and Wampanoag children preparing for a great feast together.
Recommended Ages: 3-7 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: This gentle telling of the First Thanksgiving can help young ones practice number recognition, enhance fine motor skills and begin to explain the history behind the holiday.
Extension Activities: Create crafts related to the harvest theme, such as making corn husk dolls or decorating paper plates with pictures of harvest foods like corn, pumpkins, and squash. For a free, printable book, choose the link below to download and print a first Thanksgiving book. Click here!
The Princess and the Warrior
Author: Duncan Tonatiuh
Illustrator: Duncan Tonatiuh
Summary: The Princess and the Warrior tells the Mexican legend of Princess Izta and the warrior Popoca, who falls in love with her despite not offering riches for her. Read to find the legend behind two of Mexico's famous volcanos.
Recommended Ages: 4-8 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: The Princess and the Warrior is a Mexican legend explaining the origin of two of Mexico's most famous volcanos.
Extension Activities: Learn about the real-life Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl volcanoes that are featured in the legend. Research their features and why they are significant in Mexican history and culture. After reading and discussing the genre of legends, create a new legend about a different real-world natural landmark in your area, drawing a picture and explaining why it is special to your region. This could be done individually, in pairs or groups.
Don't Trust Fish
Author: Neil Sharpson
Illustrator: Dan Santat
Summary: This funny book starts out as a nature guide, narrated by a very unreliable and grumpy crab. Are fish as dangerous as crab tries to persuade you?
Recommended Ages: 4-8 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: This is a great book to have kids begin to separate fiction from non-fiction! A Venn diagram would be helpful to sort out the facts they know from the "facts" told by the grumpy crab!
Extension Activities: Have students draw their own imaginative or "suspicious" fish after discussing different types of fish. They can then write a descriptive sentence about their creation, adding their own creative words. Or they can chose from the many fish available to draw on ArtHub for kids (follow the link). Ask students to write a story from the perspective of a fish, telling their own absurd "truth" about why humans can't be trusted. Click here!
Dino-Thanksgiving
Author: Lisa Wheeler
Illustrator: Barry Gott
Summary: The dinos are all headed home for Thanksgiving! Can they all work together to celebrate with their family?
Recommended Ages: 3-7 years
Themes, Skills, & Concepts: Dino-Thanksgiving explores all the same themes and wants we all want from our Thanksgiving...travel to be with family, making a feast that all will enjoy, and the joy of being together, no matter who your family is!
Extension Activities: It would be a fun extension activity to have groups of kids choose a dinosaur, research their chosen dino and design a Thanksgiving feast for their dino family. Find some unusual items for kids to create their meal...go outside and gather what they might need! Click here!
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