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Thanks for Thanksgiving: A Warm and Genuine Picture Book About What Children Are Thankful For
Everyone knows that Thanksgiving is a time to give thanks - the question is, where to begin? From the turkey on the table to warm, cozy cuddles, life is full of small things and bigger pleasures. But what is most important is being able to share them with family!
Julie Markes reminds kids and adults alike about the little details that make each day enjoyable, while Doris Barrette's beautiful and striking illustrations bring her thoughtful words to life.
Julie Markes reminds kids and adults alike about the little details that make each day enjoyable, while Doris Barrette's beautiful and striking illustrations bring her thoughtful words to life.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published August 17, 2004
8 people are currently reading
475 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews
November 22, 2018
Although I find Julie Markes' narrative sweetly poetic, descriptive and really do love Doris Barrette's brightly evocative and engaging accompanying illustrations (they are lush, detailed, expressive and a true visual feast), I was and remain more than a bit disappointed with and by Thanks for Thanksgiving, as there seem to be for the most part descriptions and depictions of non Thanksgiving based reasons for which to be thankful (such as school, music, playgrounds, pets, all important reasons for which to show gratitude, perhaps, but for me, not really part of Thanksgiving as a specific holiday and autumn as a season, and with that fact in mind, I actually counted only two specifically Thanksgiving holiday based scenarios, which I for one have found rather sad and frustrating). And thus, while I would without hesitation consider Thanks for Thanksgiving a tender and enchantingly lyrical homage to thankfulness (to showing gratitude, counting one's blessings) I would not really ever consider Thanks for Thanksgiving as being all that much about the Thanksgiving holiday, as concerning and describing a specific celebration. Still to be recommended is Thanks for Thanksgiving, just with in my opinion the necessary caveat that there is more of an emphasis on the concept of general gratitude than on the specific holiday traditions of Thanksgiving and the season of late autumn/early winter when it is celebrated.
November 19, 2009
Love this one! The illustrations are absolutely adorable. This is exactly the sort of Thanksgiving book I was hoping for but having such trouble finding; a story with a contemporary family, yet a timeless quality, too--filled with things that children are thankful for in their own lives, but also with a fair share of autumn surroundings and a big ol' Thanksgiving feast at the end! It's a simple rhyming story but heart-felt sentiments and the illustrations really won me over.
November 4, 2018
This was just ok. The writing is really simple and there's only one sentence every other page, so one sentence covers both open pages. This makes it for the really young, because I prefer more writing and more of a story.
This was more a general story about being thankful for the little things in life, not really specifically at Thanksgiving. Only really 3 pages out of the whole book had anything to do with this time of year. The first said "Thanks for Thanksgiving, for turkey and pie." Another said "Thank you for fall and gold leaves floating by" which wasn't about the holiday but still worked because it shows this time of year. And the last 2 pages featured the family sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner and the boy said thanks for the family that he loves.
Other than that the book completely missed the Thanksgiving spirit for me and I didn't like the things that were listed that he was thankful for. He was thankful for school, for making him feel smart, (right..), for music, dancing and art, play dates (kids do not call hanging out with their friends "play dates"), swings and slides, hopscotch, piggyback rides, puppies and cats, dress-up, shoes and hats, umbrellas, boots and puddles, Mom and cuddling, Dad and sled rides, kisses and being tucked into bed, and the moon and stars. It was all over the place. And weird to start out at fall, obviously in November because it's Thanksgiving, but then show a winter scene with them sledding. The story didn't follow a logical timeline.
I didn't really like the illustrations. The people's eyes were really small and looked funny, just these little black dots with lines around them. The colors were all the same on all of the pages, browns and deep reds and blues. The school setting had these gears and cogs and odd wheels. There were windmills and a ship. Idk what class that is but I certainly never built anything like that in school.
One page showed the little brother being carried by the older one in a piggyback ride, and there was a teddy bear on the smaller boy's back, holding on like it was going for a ride. The paw was holding onto the boy's shirt; there were lines created in the fabric of his shirt from where this teddy bear was gripping it. It's an inanimate object and it's getting a grip on this boy and smiling...In the boy's hand he held another bear, dangling from his hand, and the bear looked unhappy. Is that a facial expression being played out on a stuffed animal's face? That is so wrong.
I thought the older brother was the main character, but his sister and little brother had things they were thankful about too, like the cuddles as the little boy was held by his mom, and being tucked in, and his sister dancing. The author listed things that each of the 3 kids were thankful for, so it was odd to have the last page say "But MOST of all, thanks for the family I love!" like it was only in the one boy's POV, because there were things that his siblings were thankful for too, like it had been in their POVs as well.
I did like the pages showing the winter scene with the green branches of the evergreen tree, and the red berries. There were snow-covered trees in the background, and a big snowman with a hat and scarf and long carrot nose. There were pretty white, brown and blue swirls on the bottom of the page. I also liked the pages showing the big white crescent moon and the deep blue night sky, the zoomed in image of the top window of the house and the girl looking out and the white sea birds flying. I wish all of the pages had looked like these; I would have liked the illustrations better.
At the end there is a page that says to write the thankful thoughts year after year and at the bottom it says "Happy Thanksgiving!" That's a really unique addition and I've never come across a picture book that had a blank page for readers to actively participate in. That's really nice and would be fun for kids to fill out what they're thankful for.
I wish this had stuck with Thanksgiving themes and not named such random things throughout the rest of the year. It would teach them to notice the small things in their lives that they enjoy and may take for granted though, but I would have liked bigger things.
This was more a general story about being thankful for the little things in life, not really specifically at Thanksgiving. Only really 3 pages out of the whole book had anything to do with this time of year. The first said "Thanks for Thanksgiving, for turkey and pie." Another said "Thank you for fall and gold leaves floating by" which wasn't about the holiday but still worked because it shows this time of year. And the last 2 pages featured the family sitting down for Thanksgiving dinner and the boy said thanks for the family that he loves.
Other than that the book completely missed the Thanksgiving spirit for me and I didn't like the things that were listed that he was thankful for. He was thankful for school, for making him feel smart, (right..), for music, dancing and art, play dates (kids do not call hanging out with their friends "play dates"), swings and slides, hopscotch, piggyback rides, puppies and cats, dress-up, shoes and hats, umbrellas, boots and puddles, Mom and cuddling, Dad and sled rides, kisses and being tucked into bed, and the moon and stars. It was all over the place. And weird to start out at fall, obviously in November because it's Thanksgiving, but then show a winter scene with them sledding. The story didn't follow a logical timeline.
I didn't really like the illustrations. The people's eyes were really small and looked funny, just these little black dots with lines around them. The colors were all the same on all of the pages, browns and deep reds and blues. The school setting had these gears and cogs and odd wheels. There were windmills and a ship. Idk what class that is but I certainly never built anything like that in school.
One page showed the little brother being carried by the older one in a piggyback ride, and there was a teddy bear on the smaller boy's back, holding on like it was going for a ride. The paw was holding onto the boy's shirt; there were lines created in the fabric of his shirt from where this teddy bear was gripping it. It's an inanimate object and it's getting a grip on this boy and smiling...In the boy's hand he held another bear, dangling from his hand, and the bear looked unhappy. Is that a facial expression being played out on a stuffed animal's face? That is so wrong.
I thought the older brother was the main character, but his sister and little brother had things they were thankful about too, like the cuddles as the little boy was held by his mom, and being tucked in, and his sister dancing. The author listed things that each of the 3 kids were thankful for, so it was odd to have the last page say "But MOST of all, thanks for the family I love!" like it was only in the one boy's POV, because there were things that his siblings were thankful for too, like it had been in their POVs as well.
I did like the pages showing the winter scene with the green branches of the evergreen tree, and the red berries. There were snow-covered trees in the background, and a big snowman with a hat and scarf and long carrot nose. There were pretty white, brown and blue swirls on the bottom of the page. I also liked the pages showing the big white crescent moon and the deep blue night sky, the zoomed in image of the top window of the house and the girl looking out and the white sea birds flying. I wish all of the pages had looked like these; I would have liked the illustrations better.
At the end there is a page that says to write the thankful thoughts year after year and at the bottom it says "Happy Thanksgiving!" That's a really unique addition and I've never come across a picture book that had a blank page for readers to actively participate in. That's really nice and would be fun for kids to fill out what they're thankful for.
I wish this had stuck with Thanksgiving themes and not named such random things throughout the rest of the year. It would teach them to notice the small things in their lives that they enjoy and may take for granted though, but I would have liked bigger things.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 2, 2021
قصة مصورة شعرية برسومات دافئة كالخريف الدافئ الجميل
🧡🍂🌼🍁🍁🌼🍂🧡
🧡🧡 Thank you for fall
and gold leaves floating by.
Thanks for sweet puppies
and soft, furry cats.
Thank you for dress-up,
red shoes and big hats.
Thanks for umbrellas,
for rain boots and puddles.
Thank you for mommy
and warm, cozy cuddles.
Thanks for the moon
and the stars up above.
But most of all, thanks for the family I love 🧡🧡
30.11.2021
🧡🍂🌼🍁🍁🌼🍂🧡
🧡🧡 Thank you for fall
and gold leaves floating by.
Thanks for sweet puppies
and soft, furry cats.
Thank you for dress-up,
red shoes and big hats.
Thanks for umbrellas,
for rain boots and puddles.
Thank you for mommy
and warm, cozy cuddles.
Thanks for the moon
and the stars up above.
But most of all, thanks for the family I love 🧡🧡
30.11.2021
April 16, 2015
I didn't get the impression that this book was really about Thanksgiving until the end, but it's a good book about things for which children could be thankful. Further, the book wouldn't take more than a couple minutes to read. The illustrations are the part that might slow down the reader as there is a lot going on. Still, a book such as this could very quickly lead to a writing activity around Thanksgiving. Good book.
November 4, 2018
Going into this, I wasn’t expecting it to be about being thankful for things that didn’t relate to Thanksgiving.
I wish it had centered more on Thanksgiving, and not been about a bunch of random things.
But at the same time, I think this book will get kids thinking about everything they’re thankful for, not just on Thanksgiving day.
For kids that maybe have trouble thinking of things, I think this book would be great to get them thinking of everything they're thankful for, that they love doing, and might even have the same ones as the ones in this book.
I thought it was a stretch for kids to be thankful for school, because they ‘love to feel smart.’ At least for me, I didn’t like school, and certainly wouldn’t have included it in things to be thankful for!
This book covered everything from turkey and pie, fall, school, music, dancing, art, play dates, swings and slides, to hopscotch and piggyback rides. Also for puppies, kittens, and dress-up. I thought umbrellas, rainboots, and puddles was a bit much, and a little too random. At that rate, you'd have to list everything under the sun.
They’re thankful for their mom’s cuddles, sledding with their dad, kisses, and being tucked into bed. They’re also thankful for the moon and stars, and most of all for their family.
I think it would have been nice if it had ended on Thanksgiving, instead of starting out with turkey and pie, and then going on to a bunch of things that didn’t involve thanksgiving, and then ending with just saying family, and nothing else about Thanksgiving, which is what the book is about.
Also, the things the kids are thankful for are things you’d think about over time, maybe days or weeks, because you wouldn’t do all of that in a day. This is like being thankful the whole month of Thanksgiving, with all the activities that were mentioned. Certainly not stuff you’d think about if you’re just sitting at the table Thanksgiving day.
The illustrations were ok. One cat looked more like a wolf, and on the page with their Mom reading them a book, there was this weird green creature in the bottom left corner that looked like a dragon. It wasn’t explained, so I had no idea what it was or what it was doing there upside down by the chair.
I wish it had centered more on Thanksgiving, and not been about a bunch of random things.
But at the same time, I think this book will get kids thinking about everything they’re thankful for, not just on Thanksgiving day.
For kids that maybe have trouble thinking of things, I think this book would be great to get them thinking of everything they're thankful for, that they love doing, and might even have the same ones as the ones in this book.
I thought it was a stretch for kids to be thankful for school, because they ‘love to feel smart.’ At least for me, I didn’t like school, and certainly wouldn’t have included it in things to be thankful for!
This book covered everything from turkey and pie, fall, school, music, dancing, art, play dates, swings and slides, to hopscotch and piggyback rides. Also for puppies, kittens, and dress-up. I thought umbrellas, rainboots, and puddles was a bit much, and a little too random. At that rate, you'd have to list everything under the sun.
They’re thankful for their mom’s cuddles, sledding with their dad, kisses, and being tucked into bed. They’re also thankful for the moon and stars, and most of all for their family.
I think it would have been nice if it had ended on Thanksgiving, instead of starting out with turkey and pie, and then going on to a bunch of things that didn’t involve thanksgiving, and then ending with just saying family, and nothing else about Thanksgiving, which is what the book is about.
Also, the things the kids are thankful for are things you’d think about over time, maybe days or weeks, because you wouldn’t do all of that in a day. This is like being thankful the whole month of Thanksgiving, with all the activities that were mentioned. Certainly not stuff you’d think about if you’re just sitting at the table Thanksgiving day.
The illustrations were ok. One cat looked more like a wolf, and on the page with their Mom reading them a book, there was this weird green creature in the bottom left corner that looked like a dragon. It wasn’t explained, so I had no idea what it was or what it was doing there upside down by the chair.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 22, 2012
This is a book about giving thanks. The story begins by three children giving thanks for Thanksgiving, turkey and pie. The three children proceed to list a variety of other things that they are thankful for as well, ranging from leaves, to school to piggyback rides, and concluding with the most important aspect-a loving family. This is a great book because of the simplicity yet effectiveness that it portrays. Markes uses rhyming sentences and action-packed illustrations to keep the audience intrigued and involved in the story This book can be used within the classroom to help students understand the importance of giving thanks for the people, things, and events that take place in their lives.
November 4, 2022
Colorful images of the many things we have to be thankful for!
Ages: 4 - 8
Cleanliness: nothing to note.
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Ages: 4 - 8
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!
November 5, 2015
This is a wonderful book, even though it is not exclusively focused on the celebration of Thanksgiving, but is a celebration of everything we can give thanks for in our every day lives. I use this one in the Thanksgiving story time every year because it does have such wonderful, large illustrations, and has a short text, so that the shortest attention spans can sit still for it.
January 20, 2016
This book was featured as one of the selections for the November 2015: Thanksgiving discussion for the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.
November 2, 2015
This beautifully illustrated book shares traditional things that children would be grateful for during the fall season. One of my favorites!
November 29, 2015
I love the illustrations in this rhyming book that reminds us of some of the things we have to be grateful for. The text is brief and rhymes, making it a good choice for young children.
November 23, 2021
Simple, rhyming text and sweet pictures, great for the preschool crowd.
November 27, 2018
Vivid, Norman Rockwell-like illustrations accompany pages of all the items and people the author is thankful for.
November 27, 2018
This is such a cute book and helps young children learn there are a multitude of things to be thankful for! I had a hard time finding Thanksgiving books, very glad I found this one!
November 14, 2025
I like the illustrations in this little rhyming story.
November 23, 2018
Cute with a good message
November 30, 2018
Exactly what I was looking for . . . And more. <3
November 21, 2018
A delightful book written in rhyme about a family observing Thanksgiving traditions.
November 21, 2020
Very nice book with beautiful illustrations, rhymes and sentiment. Definitely a few things in there that the baby likes and could be thankful for! Maybe next year he’ll enjoy it more.
November 20, 2018
Enough for a Thanksgiving story without having to get into the original Thanksgiving story.
More impactful for a preschool audience than a traditional Thanksgiving story.
More impactful for a preschool audience than a traditional Thanksgiving story.
November 16, 2018
This was actually a sweet book. I enjoyed the illustrations.
November 19, 2023
Busy pictures where my toddler could pick out something he is thanksgiving for on every page.
October 27, 2015
Featuring a simple text, this book reminds both kids and adults about the little things that make each day enjoyable.
Subjects
Thanksgiving Day -- Juvenile fiction
Gratitude -- Juvenile fiction.
Rhyme -- Juvenile fiction
I read this during storytime and it worked beautifully. The program included toddlers and the book was not too long. the illustrations are a bit busy for a storytime book, but I am very picky. It includes a page for readers to write their own special thoughts. Which of course is not desirable in a library setting. That being said, it would work lovely for a one on one reading...In fact, I might buy it for a family member.
Subjects
Thanksgiving Day -- Juvenile fiction
Gratitude -- Juvenile fiction.
Rhyme -- Juvenile fiction
I read this during storytime and it worked beautifully. The program included toddlers and the book was not too long. the illustrations are a bit busy for a storytime book, but I am very picky. It includes a page for readers to write their own special thoughts. Which of course is not desirable in a library setting. That being said, it would work lovely for a one on one reading...In fact, I might buy it for a family member.
November 19, 2016
This book lists general things to be thankful for. The rhyming stanzas make it a little less specific, but it's a good book to help kids learn the meaning of Thanksgiving. The illustrations are bright and colorful and enhance the text.
Ages 3-6
http://www.momsradius.com/2016/11/8-g...
Ages 3-6
http://www.momsradius.com/2016/11/8-g...
October 23, 2017
A sweet thanksgiving rhyme which doesn’t necessarily have to be reserved for the holiday. I loved the spot on rhythm and rhyme. I might have liked a little more linear-ness to the text (a story arc of some sort). But super sweet and easy to read aloud.
November 22, 2017
This was a good option for my Toddler Storytime...short sentences, fun illustrations, and I liked the theme of things we're thankful for. Followed the story with Scarves and song, because we are thankful for those!
September 29, 2008
The pictures were terrific. I also loved the content. Perfect for young children and teaching them about being thankful. GREAT BOOK!
March 27, 2009
Good trade book for Thanksgiving...things to be thankful for
Displaying 1 - 30 of 150 reviews