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Thanksgiving: What Makes It Special?
Shows how children and parents can enjoy this special holiday to the fullest, emphasizing the crucial role God played in our country's history and how His blessings endure today.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 27, 2002
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9 people want to read
About the author
Harold Myra
43 books9 followersAs a leader of Christianity Today International, Harold has been instrumental in creating an extremely successful nonprofit organization. Behind his leadership CTI has vastly expanded the number of magazines it publishes and the audience it reaches. The CTI website explains that more than 2.5 million readers currently receive the organization's 11 publications that include Christianity Today, Leadership Journal, Campus Life, Today's Christian Woman, Marriage Partnership, Christian History & Biography, Your Church, Today's Christian, Books & Culture, Christian Parenting Today, and Men of Integrity. In addition, CTI reaches additional people with these online offerings: PreachingToday.com, BuildingChurchLeaders.com, and the Christianity Today online magazine.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
November 3, 2018
nice story - religious
November 20, 2021
Thanks for Thanksgiving
If you’re looking for a powerful Thanksgiving story, read this one! It is short, but meaty! I highly recommend it for people of all ages!
If you’re looking for a powerful Thanksgiving story, read this one! It is short, but meaty! I highly recommend it for people of all ages!
November 12, 2016
The summary on the back of the book was inspiring. It questions readers “When your family gathers this year for Thanksgiving, will the focus be the feast or the thanks?” It was evident the author cared about the history and the true meaning of the holiday and wanted children to recognize that and not just pig out on Thanksgiving.
The cover is cute. I like the scarecrow the most. The people weren’t cute though; they look quite strange with their little noses and tiny eyes spaced so far apart.
The story started off with a radio announcing Turkey Day and the younger son didn’t know what that was. His dad had to explain it was Thanksgiving. That was when the older son says people call it Pig Out Day, and the daughter chimed in that Thanksgiving all started when the Pilgrims thanked God. It was informational in that she shares that half of the Pilgrims died their first winter but the Native Americans helped them. They gave them seeds and showed them how to plant them, and the next year they had enough to eat with their harvest. Readers learn that they also fished and hunted, had deer and ducks. The pilgrims had a feast and invited the Native Americans. I thought the numbers could have been left out, because it complicated the story and just in case the numbers are wrong, it’s better not to give an exact number. He said 90 people ate with the Pilgrims, and the Native Americans brought 5 deer. That’s very precise and I don’t trust that that’s right. There were 140 people total, which I don’t know if we can possibly know that. They also apparently feasted for 3 days.
They had wild turkey, fish, oysters, and vegetables. They cooked their food over an open fire. The scene of the feast was cute. The pilgrims in their outfits, with the men in black hats and the women with their white caps, and the pot over the fire, and the long table of food. I liked the illustrations on these 2 pages.
The dad explained it’s not about turkey, it’s about being thankful and praising God. The words “bounty” and “enabled” were way too big to use in a young children’s book. Smaller synonyms should have been used. I also don’t think kids will know what a decal is. I think sticker would have sufficed to explain the images that went on the windows.
This wasn't a good Thanksgiving read and I'm glad I didn't spend too much time on it. The story quickly veered away from Thanksgiving and the history of it and turned into a message of Christianity that fits into today's time and urges readers to give thanks for everything on Thanksgiving and open their homes to foster kids. At least that's what it felt like...
The story took a turn and there were no more Pilgrim images. The Dad mentions they need a Moses sticker because Moses once commanded a full week of Thanksgiving and I didn’t know anything about that, and the story sure didn’t tell me anything. Then it jumped to Jesus healing the lepers and only one being thankful. Then it’s on to Jesus constantly thanking God, and the family saying they need to be thankful for everything—the breath in our lungs and our family members, and that being thankful is even more important than eating vegetables. “A scientific study proved that being thankful make you feel healthy. So when you’re thankful, your body almost purrs like a happy kitten.” What? Who does he think he’s talking to? Kids don’t need the proof of a scientific study. They have no idea what that means. That was completely random.
They go around listing what they’re thankful for, then it’s saying that God sent us Jesus and that’s really something to be thankful for. The mom said Jesus wants them to share everything, and apparently they share their family with foster kids. Where did that come from? This was so random!
The cover is cute. I like the scarecrow the most. The people weren’t cute though; they look quite strange with their little noses and tiny eyes spaced so far apart.
The story started off with a radio announcing Turkey Day and the younger son didn’t know what that was. His dad had to explain it was Thanksgiving. That was when the older son says people call it Pig Out Day, and the daughter chimed in that Thanksgiving all started when the Pilgrims thanked God. It was informational in that she shares that half of the Pilgrims died their first winter but the Native Americans helped them. They gave them seeds and showed them how to plant them, and the next year they had enough to eat with their harvest. Readers learn that they also fished and hunted, had deer and ducks. The pilgrims had a feast and invited the Native Americans. I thought the numbers could have been left out, because it complicated the story and just in case the numbers are wrong, it’s better not to give an exact number. He said 90 people ate with the Pilgrims, and the Native Americans brought 5 deer. That’s very precise and I don’t trust that that’s right. There were 140 people total, which I don’t know if we can possibly know that. They also apparently feasted for 3 days.
They had wild turkey, fish, oysters, and vegetables. They cooked their food over an open fire. The scene of the feast was cute. The pilgrims in their outfits, with the men in black hats and the women with their white caps, and the pot over the fire, and the long table of food. I liked the illustrations on these 2 pages.
The dad explained it’s not about turkey, it’s about being thankful and praising God. The words “bounty” and “enabled” were way too big to use in a young children’s book. Smaller synonyms should have been used. I also don’t think kids will know what a decal is. I think sticker would have sufficed to explain the images that went on the windows.
This wasn't a good Thanksgiving read and I'm glad I didn't spend too much time on it. The story quickly veered away from Thanksgiving and the history of it and turned into a message of Christianity that fits into today's time and urges readers to give thanks for everything on Thanksgiving and open their homes to foster kids. At least that's what it felt like...
The story took a turn and there were no more Pilgrim images. The Dad mentions they need a Moses sticker because Moses once commanded a full week of Thanksgiving and I didn’t know anything about that, and the story sure didn’t tell me anything. Then it jumped to Jesus healing the lepers and only one being thankful. Then it’s on to Jesus constantly thanking God, and the family saying they need to be thankful for everything—the breath in our lungs and our family members, and that being thankful is even more important than eating vegetables. “A scientific study proved that being thankful make you feel healthy. So when you’re thankful, your body almost purrs like a happy kitten.” What? Who does he think he’s talking to? Kids don’t need the proof of a scientific study. They have no idea what that means. That was completely random.
They go around listing what they’re thankful for, then it’s saying that God sent us Jesus and that’s really something to be thankful for. The mom said Jesus wants them to share everything, and apparently they share their family with foster kids. Where did that come from? This was so random!
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 1, 2015
While not poorly written, it was very heavy handed with its overtly Christian message, to the point where it felt more like a reference text for early indoctrination than a children's story book. The illustrations are simplistic and add nothing to the story. If this book fits your belief system, I'm sure you'll find it completely acceptable for children. If not, you may be turned off by the in-your-face nature of the message that has less to do with Thanksgiving than evangelism.
March 13, 2022
Greg learns about some things to be thankful for on Thanksgiving.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews