Celebrate Thanksgiving: With Turkey, Family, and Counting Blessings

by Deborah Heiligman

Overview

Thanksgiving is the original American holiday. When the Pilgrims sat down to give thanks for the hard-won bounty of their new world, they continued a Native American tradition that would become a focal point in the calendar of all generations of Americans to come.

The author relates this holiday to the harvest festivals celebrated by thankful believers of many faiths all over the globe. The book's stunning pictures show the celebration in its historical and cultural aspects, and the back matter contains a delicious Thanksgiving recipe, a glossary, and a useful list of holiday references and resources.

Dr. Elizabeth Pleck gives readers, parents, and teachers an historical and cultural background to this unique American tradition in her informative note.

National Geographic supports K-12 educators with ELA Common Core Resources.
Visit www.natgeoed.org/commoncore for more information.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781426328473
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	09/05/2017
Series:	Holidays Around the World Series
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	869,914
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	870L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Deborah Heiligman is the award-winning author of 15 children's books. She specializes in simplifying complex subjects for young people, particularly in the areas of science and social studies. She lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-3-These titles balance historical perspective with contemporary cultural significance in describing the holidays. Diwali focuses on the Hindu celebration in India but mentions observance by the Sikh and Jain faiths and also shows customs in four other countries. All texts capture well the spirit of the holidays, conveying in Ramadan, for example, the holy purpose of fasting and the shared joy in feasting. While the first-person plural texts create a mostly inclusive tone, they present Native Americans as "other" by using the third person to explain that Thanksgiving is a day of mourning for some Indians whereas others hold ceremonies of thanks. Each spread features up to three high-quality color photographs, a paragraph of body text, and a line of much larger text that creates a focal point and supports contextual understanding. Many cultures are represented through photos and captions, including five continents in Ramadan. Each book includes a map showing where the photos were taken, along with extras such as games, recipes, a prayer, or historical time lines, and ends with a page of additional cultural and historical information for adults. These visually appealing volumes would update any multicultural or holiday collection. Consider Diane Hoyt-Goldsmith's Celebrating Ramadan (Holiday House, 2001) and Laurie Halse Anderson's Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (S & S, 2002) as companions.-Julie R. Ranelli, Kent Island Branch Library, Stevensville, MD Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

"This book is simply wonderful...Deborah Heiligman really brings the spirit and history of this holiday to life."—JellyMom Book Review

From the Publisher