A Mighty Girl's top books for Thanksgiving!
Every November, families in the United States celebrate Thanksgiving — a special day of family, feasting, and thankfulness! In celebration of the upcoming holiday, we're sharing our favorite Thanksgiving stories starring girls and women. Of special interest to many of our supporters will be a children's biography about Sarah Hale, the woman responsible for Thanksgiving becoming a national holiday.
Born in 1788, the little known heroine of Thanksgiving believed that the young nation had too few national holidays that unified people across the country. At the time, Thanksgiving was celebrated in certain states primarily in the North and was observed on different days in different locations. Hale sought to create a single holiday that would help unify the nation around a single day of gratitude for one's blessings. For 36 years, Hale lobbied presidents, governors, and businesspeople to support her cause.
Finally, in 1863, President Abraham Lincoln, who saw the benefit of such a unifying holiday during the stress of the U.S. Civil War, supported legislation to establish the new national holiday. With Lincoln's proclamation declaring a national day of Thanksgiving on October 3, 1863, Hale's 36-year quest for Thanksgiving was finally a success.
Whether it's a biography about the determined Sarah Hale or a fictional story about family fun on Thanksgiving Day, the stories featured in this post are sure to remind your children of all the reasons they have to be grateful!
In addition to the titles below focused on Thanksgiving, you can find more Mighty Girl stories that teach the importance of gratitude in our Gratitude & Appreciation book section.
For more stories about special holidays, including Christmas and Hanukkah, visit our Holidays & Celebrations Collection.
Mighty Girl Books About Thanksgiving
The Thankful Book
The Thankful Book
What are you thankful for? Sometimes being thankful isn't about something big! The kids in this book are thankful for hair that makes them unique, feet that let them play, and friends that make them smile. In fact, the more they look around, the more things make them feel grateful! Beloved author-illustrator Todd Parr applies his signature playful and sensitive style to this board book about gratitude that's perfect for cultivating thankfulness in the littlest readers.
Apple Cake: A Gratitude
Apple Cake: A Gratitude
As a girl looks around her, she says thank you for the many gifts that come from nature: delicious hazelnuts, fresh eggs, sweet apples, and more. She thanks the farmers that grow the crops and the bees that make the honey... and when she's done saying thank you, her family has enough ingredients for a delicious apple cake to be thankful for! Elegant illustrations and lyrical text celebrate the power of gratitude — and a recipe for apple cake makes this book extra sweet.
Uni the Unicorn: How to Say Thank You
Uni the Unicorn: How to Say Thank You
On a beautiful fall day in the Land of Unicorns, Uni the Unicorn is shocking to find a drooping tree in the orchard. It needs help, and fast! Fortunately, Uni's friend Silky uses her magic to rejuvenate the tree. But how can Uni say thank you for Silky's help? Uni considers sending sunshine, a song, or a little Uni magic, but none of those things seem just right. Fortunately, Uni's little girl friend knows the best way to say thank you! This kid-friendly picture book based on Amy Krouse Rosenthal's beloved picture books will help kids appreciate the near magical power of gratitude.
Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
Sarah Morton's Day: A Day in the Life of a Pilgrim Girl
It can be hard for a child living today to imagine just how much the Pilgrims had to be grateful for! This book follows 9-year-old Sarah through a day in her 1627 settlement. From the rooster's crow at first light, her day is full of hard work, from lighting the fires for breakfast to feeding all the animals to studying her letters. But there also moments just like in a modern child's day: squeezing in some fun with a friend when chores are done and worrying about fitting in with a new stepfather in the family. The whole story is recreated with beautiful photographs of interpreters at a recreated site; it's sure to bring the reality of life in the New World home to children today.
Duck for Turkey Day
Duck for Turkey Day
Thuyet is excited for a Thanksgiving meal and day off school, until she realizes that her Vietnamese American family is having duck, not turkey! She worries about what her teacher and the other kids will things. It is a proper Thanksgiving with a duck on the table? Thuyet enjoys her dinner, but the real surprise comes on Monday, when she discovers that the kids in her class had everything from roast beef to lamb to enchiladas...and that the common denomination is gratitude and family! This charming story is perfect to remind kids that there is no "right way" to celebrate.
Porcupine's Pie
Porcupine's Pie
Porcupine is excited to make her specialty, Cranberry Pie, for the big Fall Feast! But as she walks to the river to wash her cranberries, she runs into one friend after another, each missing an ingredient for their own recipe: Squirrel needs flour for Nut Bread, Bear needs butter for Honey Cake, and Doe doesn't have the sugar for Apple Tart. Porcupine encourages them all to take what they need from her pantry, and continues on her way — only to discover that all of her cranberries have spilled out on her walk. Fortunately, when she gets home, the friends work together to create a delicious treat — and a new Fall Feast tradition. This charming celebration of generosity and friendship even includes a recipe for Friendship Pie!
Mary's First Thanksgiving
Mary's First Thanksgiving
Most days, Mary loves living in America... but it's Thanksgiving, her family has little food for a celebration, and she just wishes she could go back home to Ireland. Even the neighbor's gift of a pumpkin pie doesn't seem to help. So her father tells her the story of the five kernels of corn the Pilgrims placed on their plates to remember five things that always deserved gratitude, even in tough times. Perhaps Mary can find her own five kernels to give her strength as she builds a new home. This relatable story will encourage kids to think about what makes them say thanks.
Thankful
Thankful
This little girl has decided to make a "thankful chain": strips of paper, each with something she's grateful for written on them, looped together to create a chain of gratitude. And there are so many things that make her thankful! She has a loving family; she has a safe home. She has a friend and a heart that beats. And around her, there are even more things to appreciate: "love and dreams, night and morning... a moon and sun that always come back." With hand-built diorama illustrations packed with detail that make the girl's world feel deeply real, this is a beautiful story, while not specifically about thanksgiving, is a stirring exploration of the wonders and joys of life — and the power of taking a moment to appreciate them.
Thanksgiving is Here!
Thanksgiving is Here!
From the moment the day begins at Maggie's grandma and grandpa's house, Thanksgiving is in full swing! There's a turkey to go in the oven and plenty of other delicacies to prepare; Maggie even chips in by peeling potatoes. Meanwhile, the house is filling with relatives — glamorous aunts, crying babies, strange dogs, and acrobatic cousins are in every nook and cranny, and everywhere you go, there is laughter, chatter, and even a mysterious gift or two. But the best part is when Grandma rings the dinner bell and everyone gets to say thank you for this very special day. Kids will especially enjoy the busy, detailed illustrations, with lots of secrets to discover as they read this book over and over.
Giving Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
Giving Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday
For thousands of years, and all around the world, people have come together to say thanks. But in 1800s America, one woman, Sarah Josepha Hale, thought it needed to be more than just a local gathering: America needed a unifying holiday, one where people across the country would all express their thanks at once. It took decades of writing letters — to multiple presidents — before she finally got President Abraham Lincoln to listen: he thought Thanksgiving was just what the country needed after the pain of the Civil War. This gorgeous picture book, written by New York Times bestselling author Denise Kiernan, explores Hale's story and contemplates the power of gratitude... on Thanksgiving and every other day.
Thanks for Thanksgiving
Thanks for Thanksgiving
What are you saying thanks for this Thanksgiving? The kids in this book have a lot to be grateful for, from a delicious turkey on the table to school that makes them feel smart to cozy cuddles on a cold night. Most important of all, they're thankful for being able to share it all with loving family and friends! This cheerful book with whimsical illustrations full of detail also includes a page to write your own thankful thoughts.
Owl Diaries: A Trip to the Pumpkin Farm
Owl Diaries: A Trip to the Pumpkin Farm
Eva of Owl Diaries is very excited: her class is going on a field trip to the pumpkin farm! There, they get to pick apples, milk cows, and more. But when an award-winning pumpkin goes missing, Eva and her friends — both old and new — will have to put their heads together to solve the mystery and help someone in need... all before the holiday party starts. This charming early chapter book with full-color illustrations on every page, will delight newly independent readers with its playful language and its message about the power of cooperation and sharing.
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving
When "skirts were long and hats were tall," the American people seemed to be forgetting Thanksgiving altogether. But one determined woman, Sarah Hale, refused to let the holiday die. And she was ready to make a nuisance of herself until she was sure Thanksgiving would be remembered forever! Acclaimed author Anderson takes a funny, irreverent tone in this story focusing on Hale's efforts, while Faulkner uses caricature-like illustrations for visual humor — including one image of Sarah and other women storming a state house with a quill for a battering ram! End notes include more details about the history of Thanksgiving, as well as encouragement to the reader: "Pick up your pen. Change the world."
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Cranberry Thanksgiving
Every year, Grandmother makes a point of telling Maggie to invite someone to Thanksgiving dinner: "Ask someone poor or lonely," she says. But when Maggie invites the unsavory Mr. Whiskers, Grandmother is in a tizzy. The highlight of her Thanksgiving is her famous cranberry bread; is the recipe safe with Mr. Whiskers in the house? But maybe it's not Mr. Whiskers that should be making Grandmother wary.... This classic from 1971 has now been reprinted, complete with a recipe to make your own cranberry bread.
Turkey Trot Plot (Nancy Drew Clue Book #12)
Turkey Trot Plot (Nancy Drew Clue Book #12)
It's time for River Heights' annual Turkey Trot, and friends Nancy Drew, Bess, and George are running this year — wearing awesome outfits Bess designed herself! The grant prize is a giant chocolate turkey from a new fancy chocolate shop — but when the turkey goes missing, the shop's owner blames Turkey Trot runners and decides to permanently ban all kids from her shop. Nancy will have to use all of her sleuthing skills to solve the case and clear the names of the Turkey Trotters! The twelfth book in this illustrated chapter book series — which includes black and white illustrations and encourages kids to hunt for clues as they read — is full of adventure and fun! For more books from the series, check out the 10-book Nancy Drew Clue Book Conundrum Collection.
Molly's Pilgrim
Molly's Pilgrim
Molly is a Russian Jew, a new immigrant to America, and her classmates mock her for everything from her accent to her dress to her customs. Before Thanksgiving, Molly's teacher assigns a unique project: each child will make a clothespin doll for a diorama, and Molly is assigned to make a pilgrim. But when she tells her mother that pilgrims are people who came to America to be free from persecution, the resulting doll looks a lot more like a Russian immigrant than a traditional black-clad Pilgrim! Fortunately, Miss Stickey explains that, since Thanksgiving is based on the Jewish holiday of Tabernacles, Molly's pilgrim is probably the most appropriate of all. This charming story, which features the little-known origin of the Thanksgiving holiday, also provides a moving lesson about acceptance and individuality.
We Gather Together (Young Readers Edition)
Stories of Thanksgiving from Then to Now
We Gather Together (Young Readers Edition)
Stories of Thanksgiving from Then to Now
Today, Thanksgiving is a beloved holiday across America — but few people know the true story of how it came to be. In fact, many still believe historical myths. A thanksgiving celebration was a creation of the Pilgrims, rather than a long-established form of celebration. And far from the story that George Washington decided Thanksgiving should be a national holiday, the true hero of the story is Sarah Josepha Hale, a magazine editor who petitioned five different presidents to establish a national day of Thanksgiving as a symbol of unity and gratitude. This compelling young reader's edition of Denise Kiernan's adult best-seller is a captivating look at Hale's life, her decades-long quest to establish a national holiday, and what gratitude means to American society.
