We Gather Together (Young Readers Edition): Stories of Thanksgiving from Then to Now

by Denise Kiernan Narrated by Denise Kiernan

Overview

This young readers adaptation of the New York Times bestselling We Gather Together shares the true story of how Thanksgving became a national holiday and the way gratitude is looked at in America

Fiction: Thanksgiving is an American holiday that began when the Pilgrims landed on Plymouth Rock and met the Indigenous tribes already living there. 

Fact: Thanksgiving celebrations existed before the United States of America and were celebrated in other countries as well.

Fiction: American Thanksgiving was always on the fourth Thursday in November.

Fact: Thanksgiving's day, date, and even its existence was at the discretion of the president and other leaders until the date was officially established by Congress and signed into law by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941.

Fiction: George Washington is the person who decided we should celebrate Thanksgiving as a nation at the same time each year.

Fact: Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor and author, petitioned five presidents until she convinced Abraham Lincoln to declare a national day of Thanksgiving in November of 1863, starting an annual tradition continuing to this day.

There is much fiction surrounding the creation of Thanksgiving in America. Denise Kiernan debunks myths, provides facts, and explains how and why Thanksgiving evolved in the United States the way it did-and what gratitude means to society.

This young readers adaptation of Kiernan's We Gather Together should be required reading in every school in America today.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"[T]horoughly researched, both political and personal, as well as steadfastly invested in ensuring the legacy of Sarah Josepha Hale, the oft-forgotten mother of the holiday." —Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books

"Sarah Josepha Hale is an important woman in America’s history who should be incorporated into more accessible literature." —School Library Journal

"This readable account . . . does offer considerable supplemental support for social studies units." —Booklist

School Library Journal

10/27/2023

Gr 5–8—This book follows the life of Sarah Josepha Hale and her quest for a nationally recognized Thanksgiving. Throughout the course of Hale's venture, Kiernan parallels the presidencies, wars, and conflicts of slavery in the United States. Hale is a lesser-known historical figure for young audiences, so this book brings some aspect of accessibility. But it is lacking finesse. The intended audience of this book is unclear; at times, the prose is advanced and lyrically complex, while at others, the sentences stagnate in short compositions and provide condescendingly overt definitions. Beyond style, Kiernan makes some bold comparisons between the abolition of slavery and the national recognition of a holiday, which seems more alarming when there is another day dedicated to the ending of slavery that has recently become a Federal holiday. By overemphasizing the holiday, the book loses focus on the trailblazing accomplishments Hale made as a writer, editor, and activist. VERDICT While Sarah Josepha Hale is an important woman in America's history who should be incorporated into more accessible literature, this young reader's edition falls flat.—Katrina Jost

Kirkus Reviews

2023-06-21
Kiernan’s 2020 book for adults of the same name is adapted for middle graders.

Like its source, this edition is largely a biography of Sarah Josepha Hale, who, as editor of the influential 19th-century magazine Godey’s Lady’s Book, waged a decadeslong campaign for the establishment of an annual national day of thanksgiving. Hale filled the magazine with mentions of Thanksgiving, and she wrote to presidents imploring them to make the necessary proclamation, starting with Zachary Taylor after he took office in 1849. Young readers won’t learn that date, though, as the information is omitted. They will, however, read through 12 full stanzas of “Over the River, and Through the Wood,” which occupies 2 1/2 pages—just two of many questionable editorial choices. Hale and her contemporaries are frequently quoted at some length (often in fussy, difficult-to-read display type), with little apparent concern for children’s reading abilities; in contrast, much of the surrounding narrative feels dumbed down. One sentence on Queen Victoria’s wedding dress in the original is expanded into an exceptionally fatuous six-sentence passage that ends with an exclamation mark, one of far too many. There is worthwhile information, such as an account of how the 1621 gathering of Wampanoags and Pilgrims became fixed in the national mythos, but readers will likely become exhausted before they reach it.

A turkey. (index) (Nonfiction. 8-12)

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178067390
Publisher:	Penguin Random House
Publication date:	09/26/2023
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	8 - 11 Years

Read an Excerpt

Chapter One
And Thus Commenced . . .

Summer began to slowly give way to autumn. The sun dipped below the New Hampshire horizon earlier in the day, and the mercury in the thermometer dipped as well. All across the land, it was a time for harvest. That harvest might be bountiful or not. No matter the season’s yield, Sarah Josepha Hale, along with others in her community in New England, would take a day to stop and give thanks. She expected that the governor of New Hampshire would soon proclaim when this celebration and day of reflection would take place. The holiday happened at a different time each year, but was meaningful no matter when it occurred.

Hale’s life had been painful lately. She had lost someone she loved. She often worried about money. Yet she still welcomed the opportunity to find something for which to be grateful.

Hale had little of her own and also had five young mouths to feed.

She was tired.

It was late.

She held a hungry baby in her arms.

Because Hale was a woman, she had little standing in her town, state, and country. However, she always found something to bravely stand for. It was the 1800s, and her gender meant she had few job opportunities and rights. But she could still do the one thing that brought her some measure of joy. She had a pen. She had a purpose. And she had something to say.

Once again, Sarah Josepha Hale sat down to write.

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