10 Perfect Thanksgiving Books for Read Aloud & FREE Resource
Pumpkin pie, mashed potatoes, naps….. I really love Thanksgiving – in fact, it’s my favorite holiday of the year. Not as hectic and busy as Christmas but still plenty of tradition. I’m gearing up to bake pumpkin pies with my class this week (a tradition in my classroom since the late 90’s!), and it seems like a perfect time to share these Thaksgiving Books with you. I had some trouble, but I managed to curate the list down to 10!
Read on to learn more about how I use these Thanksgiving books in my classroom and to download a FREE resource to use in your classroom!
- How to Catch a Turkey – a favorite Thanksgiving book
- Balloons Over Broadway
- The Story of the Pilgrims – a Thanksgiving book about Plymouth
- Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving
- Gratitude is My Superpower
- We Are Grateful, Otsaliheliga
- Counting Our Blessings
- 10 Fat Turkeys
- 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
- This First Thanksgiving Day – a Counting Story and FREE resource!
- How to Catch a Turkey video Read Aloud
- Let's Connect!
As an Amazon affiliate, I may earn a small amount if you click on these links and make a purchase at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!
How to Catch a Turkey – a favorite Thanksgiving book
by Adam Wallace and Andy Elkerton
This hilarious book is a hit with young students – it’s perfect for pre-K, kindergarten and first grade! I love How to Catch a Turkey because it’s a wonderful way to teach setting and sequencing – two important concepts for building comprehension skills in the primary grades. And it rhymes, so there are great opportunities to build phonemic awareness skills as well. I introduce the book by writing this excerpt on the board.
“Turkey? Stage? No way! No how!
Had I really heard that right?
I broke out of my pen and ran away
with a case of bad STAGE FRIGHT!”
There is a lot to teach with this short excerpt. We talk about the rhyming words right and fright (and how crazy it is to have a silent g in the middle!) Then we brainstorm other words that rhyme with those two words – night, knight, light, fight, sight…. There are a lot! Then we talk about what it means to have stage fright. This is often a new idea for young children, and something they will need to understand to fully comprehend the book. Finally, I tell them that the problem in the book is that the turkey has stage fright, and we will read to see how he solves the problem.
Once I’ve set the purpose for reading, we read, and enjoy, the book! In his desire to avoid the stage, the turkey runs and flaps his way through the school – making this a perfect book to reinforce the idea of setting. As I read, we talk about the different settings, and use our background knowledge about our own school to predict where he will go next! In the end, the turkey faces his fear, and as with so many things in life, facing that fear leads to a wonderful new opportunity!
Be sure to check out this resource on TPT for printables and activities to teach phonics, phonemic awareness, comprehension and writing with this Thanksgiving book!
Don’t have the book? Check out my YouTube channel for a FREE video read aloud of How to Catch a Turkey!
Do your students love the How to Catch series as much as mine do? If so, click here to check out all the titles – they keep writing new ones every year!
Balloons Over Broadway
by Melissa Sweet
This book is a perfect way to expand students’ love of a tradition (the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade) and bring non-fiction to your classroom. Depending on your learners, there might be too much text for pre-k or kindergarten students. Luckily, the illustrations are absolutely marvelous – there is a reason Balloons Over Broadway was a Caldecott Honor winner! If I notice my kiddos getting antsy, I “tell” the story through the pictures.
Balloons Over Broadway is the true story of Tony Sarg, creator of the amazing balloons that float down Broadway and across our screens every Thanksgiving Day. Students who love to tinker will be inspired by Tony’s story. After we read this story, I like to give the students pipe cleaners, balloons and sharpie markers so they can design their own balloon. The draw a character on the balloon, and sometimes even tape extra details. Then they attach pipe cleaners and we parade around the room. It is sooooo much fun!
For more ideas about how to use this book to teach comprehension, phonics and sight words, be sure to check out this resource on TPT. Included in this resource is my favorite emergent reader – it is pretty heartwarming, perfect for this time of year AND perfect for teaching the sight words big and little. Grab the Balloons Over Broadway resource today!
The Story of the Pilgrims – a Thanksgiving book about Plymouth
by Katharine Ross
This Thanksgiving book tells the story of the Pilgrims and the Indigenous Peoples who helped them. The simple text and charming illustrations cover all of the basics – why the Pilgrims immigrated, how difficult life was, and their early dependence on Indigenous People. I like to read this book in the morning, and on the same afternoon, I read….
Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving
by Kimberly and James Dean
These two Thanksgiving books are a perfect pair! Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving features Pete performing a Thanksgiving Day play. He plays the lead, of course. This book has similar content to The Story of the Pilgrims. Except, it is fiction, and that opens up the teaching point.
After I read both books to the students, I draw a Venn diagram on a chart paper, and we compare and contrast the books. Because they have similar content, it is easy to help students see the differences – a talking cat for example. As we list the similarities and differences on the chart, I reinforce the concepts of fiction and non-fiction.
Do you love Pete the Cat? I do, and so do my students! Be sure to check out this blog post and resource about Pete the Cat – Rocking in my School Shoes. The letter cards and activities in this resource will also work for Pete the Cat – The First Thanksgiving!
Gratitude is My Superpower
by Alicia Ortego
This is a charming Thanksgiving book with a sweet lesson about counting your blessings. Although it does not specifically mention Thanksgiving, the story follows Betsy as she learns to practice gratitude with the help of her gratitude stone. It is a perfect lesson for pre-k, kindergarten and first grade students – really, a good reminder for us all!
After I read this book to my students, I help them create their own gratitude stones to carry with them. For step by step instructions on how to do that in your class, check out this blog post from a few years ago.
Teaching Gratitude with Gratitude Stones
These are the supplies I use to make Gratitude Stones:
- River Rocks
- Mod Podge
- Stickers – I like these hearts, but any small stickers will work. Look for stickers about a half inch so that they don’t wrinkle when you put them on a round surface.
- Foam paint brushes
Click here to see step by step instructions, including photos!
We Are Grateful, Otsaliheliga
by Traci Sorell
This is a beautiful book about being grateful across the whole year – that makes it a perfect Thanksgiving book! It’s not an accident that the cover is full of medals. The illustrations are colorful and vibrant. The text is simple and powerful. The message is timeless.
As you can tell from the cover, We Are Grateful, Otsaliheliga features Indigenous People from the Cherokee tribe. Words from their language are sprinkled throughout. The book follows the People across the seasons as they express gratitude. One of the things I love the most about this book is that it depicts Indigenous People in modern life. Students often have the misconception that Indigenous People only lived in the past, and this book is a perfect counter to that idea.
When I use this book with my kindergarten students, in addition to the message of gratitude I reinforce the idea of seasons going round and round. Before reading, we do a picture walk to identify the seasons. This helps my students think like scientists and use their sense of sight to find clues for the seasons in the illustrations. By doing that picture walk BEFORE reading the book, I set the stage for students to understand the larger message. This book helps students see that gratitude is something to practice all year long, not just at Thanksgiving time.
Counting Our Blessings
by Emma Dodd
This is another sweet, rhyming Thanksgiving book! Counting our Blessings has the extra benefit of helping students with counting order. The mother dog and the puppy count their blessings, from one to ten. I read this book to my kindergarten students this week, and they all gasped when they saw the golden illustration of the sun. You will too!
After we read this book, I ask the kids to stand in a circle. I stand in the middle of the circle, and count them, one by one. As I count, I call each one a blessing. They love to join in, and pretty soon, you can hear, “One blessing, two blessings, three blessings….” It’s a really simple response the story but it can be powerful to name the kids as blessings. Powerful for you and also for them!
10 Fat Turkeys
by Tony Johnston
10 Fat Turkeys is a laugh out loud Thanksgiving book. Seriously. You will all giggle at the antics of these crazy birds! And, while you are chortling, your students will be counting. So, a math lesson and a giggle – what could be better!
10 Fat Turkeys is a counting backwards book, so it helps give students practice with that process – which will help them be more confident with subtraction! The book uses playful language throughout, including this phrase.
“Gobble Gobble Wibble Wobble do a noodle dance!”
When we finish reading the book, I challenge the students to a noodle dance! This is a lot like the game Simon Says. The students start by standing in their rug spot (mine are defined boxes, which is important for helping them stay in their own bubble). We count all of the students, and I write that number on the board. Then I start some music. The kids’ challenge is to show me what they think a noodle dance would look like WITHOUT leaving their rug spot. As they dance, I walk around and tap 2-3 on the head. Those students sit down. Then, I stop the music and we figure out how many students are sitting down. We count backwards on the number line to find the number of students who are still dancing. The game continues until all of the students are sitting down. This is a fun wiggle break that is also a big math problem!
‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
by Dav Pilkey
You probably recognize the author of this Thanksgiving book. Dav Pilkey wrote the very popular Captain Underpants series. Before you turn away in disgust, I encourage you to give this sweet book a try. It is well worth reading to any pre-k or kindergarten class. The illustrations alone make this a great read.
Dav Pilkey does a superb job of keeping to the rhythm and lilt of the original The Night Before Christmas. In this version, a class of students go on a field trip to a turkey farm. While there, they encounter Farmer Mack Nugget, who looks strangely like the farmer in the famous painting, American Gothic. Farmer Nugget has a bunch of turkeys, and the kids have a great time exploring the farm, until they realize the turkeys are destined for the Thanksgiving table. When the children load the bus, they are mysteriously quite fat. As the bus wends its way home through a sky remarkably similar to The Starry Night, it is clear that love has saved the day – and the turkeys!
When I read this book to my class, we just start by enjoying the book. After we finish, I flip back through the illustrations and we discuss how they enhance the story. When we get to the page that resembles American Gothic, I project it on the screen and we talk about how the two images are the same and different. We do the same with the page the looks like The Starry Night. I love that Dav Pilkey was inspired to bring in those two great pieces of art. Showing them to my class exposes them to two amazing pieces of human culture and adds depth to this book which is both heartwarming and funny.
This First Thanksgiving Day – a Counting Story and FREE resource!
by Laura Krauss Melmed
I really love this Thanksgiving counting book for it’s delightful illustrations and beautiful, rhyming text. The book features Wampanoag and Pilgrim children – and their expressions are so charming. Your students will love finding the children on each page – and counting each one!
I introduce the book with a book walk. We simply enjoy each picture, and try to use the clues in the illustrations to predict the chores that the Pilgrim and Wampanoag children will complete on each page. We also count the children on each page. The text builds to 12, giving preK and kindergarten students practice with numbers up to 12.
After the picture walk, I go back to the first page and read the text to the students. This is our opportunity to check if our predictions were correct. As I read, I reinforce the concept that the pictures and the text should match. This is actually an important concept that helps young writers begin to organize their writing!
Once we finish reading the book, I have students respond to the book by predicting what the Pilgrim and Wampanoag children will do after the feast. Download this FREE resource to get that response sheet AND a math practice page for counting to ten.
How to Catch a Turkey video Read Aloud
I am always uploading new read alouds to my YouTube channel. Check out Ms. Cotton’s Corner on YouTube for my latest video. In the meantime, share this with your class and have a Happy Thanksgiving!
Let’s Connect!
You can find Ms. Cotton’s Corner in various corners of the Internet – TPT, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest and YouTube. See you there!
Check these places to ensure that you don’t miss a thing! And don’t forget to tell your friends! Sharing is Caring!
