Thanksgiving Is . . .

by Gail Gibbons

Thanksgiving is... A holiday for gratitude.  It is turkey, cranberry sauce, and pumpkin pie.  It is a time to celebrate and share with family and friends.

Explaining the roots of our familiar fall holiday in ancient harvest celebrations, Gail Gibbons' clear, kid-friendly language is accompanied by colorful watercolor illustrations.  The story of the Pilgrims' journey and first Thanksgiving feast is retold, as well as the history of Thanksgiving as a national holiday, and the traditions and celebrations that have developed over the years.  

Thanksgiving Is. . .  is a perfect introduction to early American history, and a fun autumn holiday from a children's nonfiction master.

Genres: Thanksgiving, Picture Books, Holiday, Nonfiction, Childrens, History

32 pages, Paperback

First published September 1, 2004

About the author

From gailgibbons.com: I was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1944. Even as a little child, I was always busy putting books together. Sometimes I would bind them with yarn to hold the pages together. I've always loved drawing and painting. I was also a very curious child. My parents tell me that I was always asking lots and lots of questions.

Later, I went on to the University of Illinois, where I studied graphic design. Then I moved to New York City, where I got a job doing artwork for television shows. Eventually I was asked to do the artwork for a children's show. While doing that show, some of the children asked me if I had ever thought of doing children's books. My mind immediately recalled how much I enjoyed doing that type of thing when I was a child. So I put an idea for a book together and right away a publisher bought it. That book was called Willy and His Wheel Wagon. Since then, over 170 books that I have written and illustrated have been published. The type of books I write are non-fiction books. This is because I love researching so much. I get to ask lots of questions, just like when I was a kid. I also get to travel and meet lots of interesting people. While doing research for my book Nature's Green Umbrella: Tropical Rain Forests, I traveled to two islands where there are tropical rain forests, Saba and Dominica. I also had a great time writing and illustrating the book. I get a lot of pleasure from doing the type of work I do.

Reviews

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wow, I misread a few words here that completely changed the sentence and thus completely changed context. Wow. That was a strong reaction. That was intense. I feel better about this book now.

The book goes into the history of people on Earth giving thanks for a bountiful harvest. Egypt, China, Greece, Rome all had this practice, even the Middle Ages. Then is gives a super short version of America’s Thanksgiving in 1620. It does not talk about how after the Natives saved the pilgrims lives a few short years later they were killing Indians, but anyway. Abraham had the 1st National day of Thanksgiving while FDR was the president to start the national holiday we celebrate since.

They go into traditions people have which does not include black Friday shopping. It does talk about football which is how most people spend the day.

I felt the art was messy, but it go the job done. It was a cute enough book. The niece gave this 1 star - no joke and the nephew gave it 2. He said it had no monster or robots and it was boring. Oh well. I’ll try again later.

[Melki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Gibbons' gorgeous artwork is the highlight of this book which is essentially the usual litany of lies we've been cramming down children's throats for decades.

From the steaming turkey decorating the Pilgrims' table to the "invited" Native Americans, the story is factually flawed.

And what's this? Puritans having fun?

Yeah. Right.

On the plus side, four very nice pages are devoted to harvest festivals throughout history, an unusual and informative multicultural touch.

I can see Rush Limbaugh's left eye twitching right now.

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Thanksgiving Is..." is rather boring, for me. It's a non-fiction mini-history book, which focuses on pilgrim and modern Thanksgiving celebrations/traditions but also includes other harvest celebrations throughout time, i.e. the Egyptian and the Roman celebrations. I guess that, for my grown-up tastes, there wasn't enough information to make it really interesting and it wasn't written in an outstanding sort of way. Also, the pictures were pleasant and colorful but also nothing outstanding in my mind. Still, a good introduction to harvest festivals in general, and Thanksgiving especially, for young reader.

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would have given this book a five if it had not been for errors in fact. "Then in 1939 President Franklin Delano Roosevelt made a change and declared Thanksgiving day to be the fourth Thursday of November." The truth is that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed a law in 1941 stating that the fourth Thursday of November would always be celebrated as Thanksgiving in United States. He did this after having changed it to the third Thursday in November (November 23, 1939) in 1939 in order to extend the Christmas shopping season. He admitted it had been wrong change the day and decided to never allow this to happen again and so made it a federal holiday.

Other errors include calling Native Americans Indians and omitting the Native American Samoset, who was the first Native American to make contact with the pilgrims.

[Jonathan Schildbach · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was pulling books for my wife to take to her preschool class for Thanksgiving and she told me not to include this one because "we can't teach that anymore." Overall, it wasn't terrible. It has some context about harvest festivals going back to ancient civilizations. But it does get into that problematic white-washed version of Thanksgiving (which I suppose is pretty terrible), then skips forward to modern Thanksgiving celebrations of food, football, and parades. Uhhh...cute illustrations, though. And no, she's not teaching the unvarnished version of Thanksgiving to 4-year-olds, but...

[Joy Gerbode · Rating 2 out of 5]

For the most part it is a lovely book, with a miniature history of harvest celebrations through the centuries. I'm not sure the information about the first Thanksgiving is completely correct ... and it sure doesn't give a proper viewpoint of how the native Americans were treated.

[Diana Garcia · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because of how the content was put. I liked that it was easy to read yet had some facts I didn't even know. It spoke of many other cultures and how they celebrate and how we all do it differently. And of course the history of pilgrims and even how our presidents were involved in establishing the day. I also like that it showed family getting together as well. On hard words like names there were pronunciations next to them so children can sound out the word. The illustrations were also very colorful and bright showing all the different scenerios described. Overall I think it's a great book to introduce some good facts that are easy to remember.

Content Statements:
1. The pilgrims sailed on a ship called the Mayflower.
2. President Roosevelt declared Thanksgiving Day to be the fourth Thursday of November.
3. Thanksgiving is a holiday.

Use in class: I would have the children refer to the book to act out many of the things pilgrims did and we could dress up like them while learning their history.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book begins with ancient people celebrating with harvest parties to their gods, moves to the Pilgrim's landing and how we celebrate Thanksgiving today.

Ages: 5 - 9

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

**Like my reviews? Then you should follow me! Because I have hundreds more just like this one. With each review, I provide a Cleanliness Report, mentioning any objectionable content I come across so that parents and/or conscientious readers (like me) can determine beforehand whether they want to read a book or not. Content surprises are super annoying, especially when you’re 100+ pages in, so here’s my attempt to help you avoid that!

So Follow or Friend me here on GoodReads! And be sure to check out my bio page to learn a little about me and the Picture Book/Chapter Book Calendars I sell on Etsy!

[Suzanne Manners · Rating 5 out of 5]

Nice illustrations and informative text. Thanksgiving didn't orignate with pilgrims and Indians; it traces it's roots all the way back to Eygptian days with the god Min. Egyptians gave thanks to the ferility god Min after a good harvest. The Chinese celebrate Moon day and make cakes on the full moon, giving thanks with the harvest moon. I was surprised to learn that Canada celebrates the holiday in October.

I am grateful to the feast tradition started with the pilgrims and Indians. I look forward to the chance to spend time with family. Months and months go by when we don't see each other. It's nice to get together and catch up on things, and remember old times.

[Colleen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about the Thanksgiving holiday including its history and how it is celebrated today. It's colorful illustrations done in a gouache style are attractive and provide an insight to the setting and history of Thanksgiving. The book introduces the concept of the harvest from thousands of years ago and why North Americans celebrate this holiday. The vocabulary is complex for very young children, but well suited for primary readers. It shows how the festivities have evolved over time which is great fodder for discussion in the classroom.

[Chelsea Christophel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a great opener for teaching students about Thanksgiving. The colorful pictures and historical tale of how it originated can get readers interested, but also informed. I think that many children know little about this holiday and this book is a great way to give them the full story of how this tradition came about. I would definitely recommend this book to any classroom beginning the topic of holidays!

[Brittany Steadman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this version of a nonfiction harvest themed book. I found it to be truly unique because it showed more than just the American Thanksgiving, and gave a look into the history of different harvest festivals throughout time and all over the world. The illustrations were engaging, colorful, and will keep kids interested in learning what the next page will be about. I would love to have this book in my collection as a teacher. It's a great informational text to have in any classroom.

[Kelley Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a non-fiction account of Thanksgiving in America. It gives a brief history of how Thanksgiving was celebrated in ancient and medieval times. It's definitely for beginners. There is not much text on most pages and large colorful pictures on every page. It would be a good book to use during the Thanksgiving holiday for kindergartners or first graders.

[Beckie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really like this series of books. It explains holidays and traditions in a really kid friendly way. We've read a few of them and they haven't disappointed. This Thanksgiving one explained the Mayflower and the first Thanksgiving along with what we do now in modern times to celebrate the holiday. Great read.

[Heather · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you're looking for a children's book that explains the history of Thanksgiving and its traditions, this is a really good one. The illustrations are nice, but they definitely have a dated feel (and not in the delightful, nostalgic sense).

[Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great basic info about harvest/thanksgiving festivals as well as the American Thanksgiving. Great illustrations.

[Relyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I don't like the look of Gail Gibbons' books, the content is always wonderful.

[Aya Chadwick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I didn't know that thanksgiving is equivalent to moon festival in my country! Then I'll maybe bake some moon cakes for this year's thanksgiving!

[Nicole Bergen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Picked this book because Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and it was very informational, a child might fight it long and boring though.

[Ellen · Rating 5 out of 5]

love Gail Gibbons

[Gena Lott · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gibbons's books are so wonderfully informative and so well crafted to help children understand non-fiction topics, can't praise them enough!

[Bethe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Basic history and information about the holiday, with Gibbon's signature style colorful illustrations.

[Trista · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely illustrations and text. I used this book as a mentor text for my students to write their own "Thanksgiving is ______" sentences.

[Jessica · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't enjoy the illustrations. However, the information about past harvest celebrations was a great addition to the First Thanksgiving. Learned something new.

[Bookbag_Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

- The Best Times Are Always Found When Friends & Family Gather Round.
- Gratitude Turns What We Have Into Enough.
- In Everything Gives Thanks
- The Thankful Receiver Bears A Plentiful Harvest.
- Give Thanks For A Little And You Will Find A Lot.
- Now Is Not A Time To Think Of What you Do Not Have. Think Of What You Can Do With What.
- A Grateful Heart Is A Magnet For Miracles.
- The More You Are Thankful, The More You Attract Things To be Thankful For
- Not What We Say About Our Blessings, But How We Use Them, Is The True Measure Of Thanksgiving.

TRAVELED TO // Plymouth, Massachusetts & A Town Near You
MET ALONG THE WAY // The Pilgrims & The Indians & Happy Full Townspeople

[Ellwyn Autumn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book Summary:
A non-fiction book that introduces young children to the history and traditions of America’s national Thanksgiving holiday as well as the ways ancient cultures celebrated the end of the harvest season.

Review:
I fine introduction to America’s early history and the traditions of Thanksgiving that have evolved over time. The book is loaded with interesting facts about various cultures, but they’re presented in a way that won’t overwhelm young students.

The watercolor illustrations are colorful and add extra historical details to the book that are sure to spark conversations about how the Pilgrims and Native Americans lived.

A must read for all classrooms learning about the origins and traditions of America’s Thanksgiving Day.

[Roseanna Crissman Laws · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thanksgiving is more than just the turkey! I love any informational book by Gail Gibbons. I think that it is important to teach students about the history of Thanksgiving. Many students think that it is just for the feast! Every page starts with “Thanksgiving is…” and gives different pieces of history or topics that relate to Thanksgiving. I even learned something as an adult when I read this book. I am planning on reading this book to my fourth grade students the week of Thanksgiving and dissecting the many history points that this book introduces that relates to Thanksgiving. This is a WOW book for me because I have tried to find books for Thanksgiving that are informational text and this one is the best I have found.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a simplified history of Thanksgiving. It starts thousands of years ago covering celebrations among Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, Jews, etc before moving to the Pilgrims and eventually modern day Americans. It's more of a nonfiction book than a story but I don't think the information is especially accurate. The illustrations are simple but colorful cartoon drawings.

[Joanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was meh…didn’t provide much of a history of Native Americans and I felt it glossed over some of the other beginnings of Thanksgiving (this was for a read aloud with a third grade class, in which I didn’t select the book, but their main classroom teacher had).

[Heather Brisendine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Review from my 4 year old: I liked this book a little bit. I liked the kids in the book and the Thanksgiving decorations. This book does a good job teaching me about Thanksgiving, like why we eat yummy foods.