15 Best Children's Books to Read for Thanksgiving

Bring Thanksgiving to storytime with this collection of the 15 Best Children's Books to Read for Thanksgiving! Plus, 11 Books About the History of the Pilgrims for Adolescence Children.

Thanksgiving is a favorite holiday for many families. but it is not just a day to enjoy a delicious meal. It is a day filled with family gatherings, love, joy, and most of all thankfulness and blessings.

There is a lot to be thankful for this year and Thanksgiving is the perfect opportunity to introduce children to books about being thankful. Who better to teach about thankfulness to the people who celebrated Thanksgiving first!

Fall is such an amazing season filled with apple picking, hayrides, and pumpkin gathering, and it all culminates in the feast of Thanksgiving. Reading to your children, all snuggled under a blanket with a roaring fire, spending time together with the 15 Best Children’s Books about Thanksgiving is the perfect way to end the year.

There are so many amazing wonderful Thanksgiving books for children, it really was hard to narrow it down to just 15!. Here is my list of the 15 Best Children’s Thanksgiving Books to Read to Your Kids. These books tell stories about the Pilgrims and their journey to the Americas, the first Thanksgiving, and the Native Americans who helped the Pilgrims. These are wonderful Thanksgiving storybooks to enjoy over and over again.

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11 Books About the History of the Pilgrims for Adolescence

If You Sailed on the Mayflower by: Ann McGovern. Imagine being a Pilgrim on the Mayflower, anxiously awaiting arrival in a new land. This book answers a variety of questions about Pilgrim's life--both on the ship and onshore.

The Mayflower Adventure by: Colleen Reece. John and Sarah have lived in Holland all of their lives. But not anymore. Their parents, along with many other friends, have decided to move to America, the New World. While they know that God will travel with them, there are many things the Smythes and their friends don't know. One of their ships will start to sink. Fierce Atlantic storms will batter the Mayflower, threatening to tear her apart. Many people will get sick, and some won't live to see their new home. How will John and Sarah survive the voyage?

Almost Home: A Story Based on the Life of Mayflower's Mary Chilton by Wendy Lawton. Almost Home is the story of the Pilgrims' journey to America, based on the life of Mary Chilton, an actual passenger on the Mayflower! The Story shows God's providence and provision on their journey.

Three Young Pilgrims by Cheryl Harness. When Bartholemew, Remember, and Mary Allerton and their parents first step down from the Mayflower after sixty days at sea, they never dream that life in the New World will be so hard. Many in their Plymouth colony won't make it through the winter, and the colony's first harvest is possible only with the help of two friends, Samoset and Squanto. Richly detailed paintings show how the pilgrims lived after landing at Plymouth, through the dark winter and into the busy days of spring, summer, and fall. Culminating with the excitement of the original Thanksgiving feast, Three Young Pilgrims makes history come alive.

Dear America: A Journey to the New World; The Diary of Remember Patience Whipple, Mayflower, 1620 by Kathryn Lasky. A 12-year-old pilgrim girl makes the exciting yet dangerous journey on the Mayflower, filling her diary with thoughts about new friends, contact with Native Americans at Plymouth Colony, and the sickness that leaves her motherless. Historical fiction for ages 8 to 12.

Thanksgiving on Plymouth Plantation by Diane Stanley. Join the Time-Traveling Twins as they sit down to an enormous THREE-DAY feast, complete with puddings, pompions, pottages, and, of course, turkeys. Meet Squanto and the other Native Americans. Help with the harvest. Find out what it was really like to be a Pilgrim.

My Name is America: The Journal of Jasper Pierce, A Pilgrim Boy, 1620 by Ann Rinaldi. Caught in the tides of history, 14-year-old indentured servant Jasper is adventure-bound when he sets sail onboard the Mayflower! Based on solid research, this fictional first-person account reveals the day-to-day hardships real people like Miles Standish, Priscilla Mullins, John Alden, Edward Winslow, and Governor Bradford faced as they struggled to survive in the New World. A compelling read for ages 9 to 12.

The Mayflower Secret by Dave & Neta Jackson. Thirteen-year-old Elizabeth Tilley, an orphan, and life in the new colony. Recommended for ages 8 to 12.

The Pilgrims at Plymouth by Lucille Recht Penner. Life on the Mayflower was harsh. When the Pilgrims reached America, things got even worse. More than half the Pilgrims died the first winter. Luckily, the Pilgrims made friends with the Indians who lived nearby. Thanks to the Indians, the Pilgrims set up the first successful American colony at Plymouth, Massachusetts.

The Legend of Squanto - audio Learn how equipped Squanto was, a captive of European slave traders, to change the course of U.S. history.

Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas. Your 4- to 8-year-olds will be amazed to discover that the real hero of the first Thanksgiving was not English or Indian.