Giving Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

Gr 1-5--Celebrating gratitude is what Sarah Josepha Hale set out to do in the 1800s when she started petitioning to turn Thanksgiving into a national holiday. Hale believed it was important for all Americans to share what they are thankful for on the same day each year. She wrote letters for years to different presidents petitioning her idea of a holiday, until Abraham Lincoln agreed. This book is full of interesting facts about the implementation of Thanksgiving that may be new to readers; for example, Lincoln's son, Tad, is the reason the president pardons a turkey each year, and the first Thanksgiving was held during the Civil War. Educators can use the book in various ways for lessons plans, and there is an open-ended prompt at the end for educators and caregivers to share with children. Illustrations are soft, colorful, and beautiful--a reminder of what fall and Thanksgiving represent. This book also highlights different nationalities and ways to say "thank you" in different languages. Back matter includes more resources about the history of Thanksgiving. VERDICT A great addition to any library, as it shares a new side of the story of Thanksgiving.--Maeve Dodds

In the opening to this oddly contextualized look at the origins of the U.S. Thanksgiving holiday, children of varying cultural backgrounds, including Algonquin, French, and Korean, each give thanks in their native language. But a page turn suddenly shifts the focus to writer and activist Sarah Josepha Hale (1788-1879), portrayed in Christoph's fluid pastel palettes serving a sumptuous turkey to her family. Though "different places celebrated thanksgivings at different times for different reasons," Hale believed that a single Thanksgiving ought be celebrated on the same date nationwide. She wrote letters to various politicians, including five different presidents, until President Lincoln announced the national holiday. Kiernan's disjointed, bucolic-leaning narration touches on traditional practices, including the yearly turkey pardoning and televised football games, but a lack of detail around the holiday's problematic beginnings undercuts the limited historical telling. Resources providing further information conclude. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)