Feast on a Cornucopia of Good Reading for November!
by Selene Vasquez

Picture Books: Ages 6 thru 8

Thanksgiving Is Here! by Diane Goode. (HarperCollins, 32 pp., $15.99). Grandma and Grandpa busily prepare a Thanksgiving feast while each ring of the doorbell brings an increasing flock of happy and hungry relatives. Delightful pen-and-ink and watercolor cartoon artwork.

The Perfect Thanksgiving by Eileen Spinelli. Illustrated by JoAnne Adinolfi. (Holt, unpaged, $15.95). A tale of two Thanksgivings, whereby a little girl compares her family’s chaotic and free spirited holiday celebration with another more ‘genteel’ family seemingly perfect in every way. Punchy rhyming text full of warm humor.

Fiction: Ages 8 thru 12

Turkey Monster Thanksgiving by Anne Warren Smith. (Albert Whitman, 103 pp., $13.95). After her mother leaves, fourth-grader Katie and her little brother spend Thanksgiving lounging in their pajamas, munching on pizza, and watching football on T.V. Embarrassed over her family’s plight, she attempts a grand elaborate holiday celebration with unexpected comic touches. Substantial characterizations with a subtle enjoyable theme.

Nonfiction: Ages 5 thru 10

Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks by John Bucchino. Illustrated by Anna-Liisa Hakkarainen. (HarperCollins, unpaged with CD and score, $16.99). “In a world that can bring pain, I will still take each chance...for I believe that whatever the terrain, our feet can learn to dance.” A sweetly rendered song celebrating the beauty of the seasons and the meaning of faith. Celebrated musician Art Garfunkel sings on the accompanying CD.#

Selene S. Vasquez is a media specialist at Orange Brook Elementary School in Hollywood, Florida. She is formerly a children’s librarian for the New York Public Library.

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