Look and Be Grateful by Tomie dePaola

Published by Holiday House, 2015

“Open your eyes, and look.  Open your eyes and see.  And say thank you, for today is today.  Be grateful, for everything you see.  Have gratitude.  Today is today, and it is a gift.  So, be grateful.”  That’s the entire text of this little book, showing a young boy and girl as they wake up and enjoy the world around them.  32 pages; ages 4-8.

Time for Cranberries by Lisl H. Detlefsen, illustrated by Jed Henry

Published by Roaring Brook Press, 2015

This year, Sam is old enough to help with his family’s cranberry harvest…and he always enjoys eating homemade cranberry sauce and cranberry pies at Thanksgiving. Includes recipes for both the sauce and the pie. 32 pages; grades K-3.

Keepunumuk: Weeâchumun’s Thanksgiving Story by Danielle Greendeer, Anthony Perry, and Alexis Bunten illustrated by Garry Meeches Sr.

Published by Charlesbridge, 2022

Maple and Quill love visiting their grandmother N8hkumuhs and hearing her stories.  One is of Weeâchumun (corn), and how she and her sisters Beans and Squash helped new people who came to their land in this Thanksgiving story from a Wampanoag perspective. 32 pages; grades K-4.

Giving Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday by Denise Kiernan, illustrated by Jamey Christoph

Published by Philomel Books, 2022

A brief history of how Sarah Josepha Hale led a campaign to make Thanksgiving a national holiday, with some thoughts about gratitude and how people celebrate Thanksgiving today. 32 pages; ages 4-8.

Let Me Fix You a Plate: A Tale of Two Kitchens by Elizabeth Lilly

Published by Neal Porter Books, 2021

A girl narrates her family’s annual trip to visit relatives in West Virginia and Florida, with an emphasis on the different foods served by each side of the family. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

Fangsgiving by Ethan Long

Published by Bloomsbury Children’s Books, 2018

When Vladimir the vampire experiences an unexpected Thanksgiving crisis, his family and friends rally to save the holiday. 32 pages; ages 4-8.

Thank you, Omu! By Oge Mora

Published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2018

Omu’s neighbors drop in all day for some of her delicious red stew. By suppertime, there’s none left for her, but fortunately her friends have a community-building solution. 40 pages; ages 4-8.

If You Lived During the Plimoth Thanksgiving by Chris Newell, illustrated by Winona Nelson

Published by Scholastic, 2021

The question-and-answer format traces the history and culture of the Wampanoag people, the Europeans who sailed on the Mayflower, and what happened when their paths crossed. This story doesn’t end with the 1621 harvest feast but continues on to the years afterward as Europeans increasingly moved onto indigenous lands and killed many of the people with wars and disease. 96 pages; grades 2-5.

Rettie and the Ragamuffin Parade: A Thanksgiving Story by Trinka Hakes Noble, illustrated by David C. Gardner

Published by Sleeping Bear Press, 2017

Rettie has a lot to deal with as the oldest child in her family living in a tenement during the 1918 influenza epidemic. The annual Ragamuffin Parade gives her a chance to collect some money that helps her family get some extra food for Thanksgiving. 32 pages; grades 1-4.

Our Table by Peter H. Reynolds

Published by Orchard Books, 2021

A girl finds a way to get her family away from their screens to gather around the dinner table the way they used to. 48 pages; 4-8.

We Give Thanks by Cynthia Rylant, illustrated by Sergio Ruzzier

Published by Beach Lane Books, 2021

A frog and a rabbit show their gratitude for different aspects of their lives, like food, family, and nature.  They travel around their neighborhood, ending up back at home where they prepare a feast as friends and relatives start to arrive. 32 pages; ages 3-7.

We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frane Lessac

Published by Charlesbridge, 2018

“Cherokee people say otsaliheliga to express gratitude.” See how each season brings its own reasons to celebrate and be thankful.  32 pages; ages 4-8.