Thanksgiving

THANKSGIVING POEMS

	Illustrated by Matt Tavares, Over the River and Through the Wood (Candlewick, 2011) is a picture-book version of 19th-century writer Lydia Maria Childs’s classic Thanksgiving poem. (“Over the river and through the wood/to grandfather’s house we go;/The horse knows the way/to carry the sleigh/through the white and drifted snow.”) For ages 3-7.
	Jack Prelutsky’s It’s Thanksgiving! (HarperCollins, 2008) is an illustrated collection of twelve Thanksgiving-themed poems, among them “It’s Happy Thanksgiving,” “When Daddy Carves the Turkey,” and “The Wishbone.” For ages 4-8.
	Edited by Katharine Paterson, Giving Thanks: Poems, Prayers, and Praise Songs of Thanksgiving (Chronicle Books, 2013) is a 56-page collection from a wide range of cultures, religions, and voices, with gorgeous illustrations by cut-paper artist Pamela Dalton. Included are verses from the King James Bible, poems by Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson, and Basho, native American blessings, and Chinese proverbs.  For ages 5 and up.
	From the Academy of American Poets, Poems for Thanksgiving is a list of grateful poems from a wide range of poets.
	For another Thanksgiving poetry list, see Thanksgiving Poems: The Cranberry Cantos which includes works by Robert Herrick, Maxine Kumin, John Greenleaf Whittier, Robert Frost, and more.
	Henry Wadsworth Longellow’s The Courtship of Miles Standish, written in 1858, is a narrative poem about the early days of the Plymouth colony, in which Miles Standish persuades John Alden to court the lovely Priscilla Mullins for him – to which Priscilla famously responds, “Why don’t you speak for yourself, John?”

THANKSGIVING ARTS AND CRAFTS

	By Fran Newton-D’Amico, The Story of the Pilgrims (Dover Publications, 2005) is a coloring book with thirty black-line captioned drawings that follow the Pilgrims in their journey to America and through their first year at Plymouth Plantation.
	Simple Origami Turkey for Children is a You Tube video that shows how to make a great paper turkey with a spectacular tail. A fun while-dinner-is-cooking project.
	From Activity Village, see these instructions for making a Paper Cup Indian and a Paper Cup Pilgrim Boy or Girl.
	Make a spectacular turkey hat! (Make one for everybody!)
	Make felt-and-pine-cone turkeys!
	Parenting’s Thanksgiving Crafts and Activities for Kids has instructions for a model Mayflower, a paper-cup turkey, a native American necklace, collage placemats, handprint turkeys, and a turkey feather hunt.
	At the Crafty Crow’s Thanksgiving Crafts, find out how to make fall leaf place cards, paper-bag pumpkins, pilgrim spoon dolls, and many more.

THANKSGIVING IN THE MOVIES/ON TV

	In the animated movie Free Birds (2013), Reggie the Turkey (the annual Pardoned Turkey) and his fanatic pal Jake use a time machine to transport themselves to the Plymouth Colony to change the course of turkey history by ensuring that turkeys are NOT on the menu at the first Thanksgiving. Rated PG.
	A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving is a 30-minute made-for-TV short, in which there’s dinner confusion and Charlie Brown once again fails to kick the football.
	From PBS’s American Experience, We Shall Remain is a five-part series on native American history after the arrival of the European settlers. For Thanksgiving, see episode one, “After the Mayflower.”
	From PBS’s American Experience, God in America is a six-part series on the “400-year history of the intersection of religion and public life in America.” Features at the site include a timeline, transcripts, episode-by-episode study guides, and a selection of classic American religious documents. Episode 1 (“The New Adam”) covers early New England settlers.