Giving Thanks : : how Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

Locations
Call Number: Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise, Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise.
On Shelf At: Downtown Library, Malletts Creek Branch, Pittsfield Branch, Traverwood Branch, Westgate Branch

Location & Checkout Length	Call Number	Checkout Length	Item Status
Downtown Kids Holidays 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Holidays 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Downtown Kids Holidays 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Malletts Storage Kids 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Pittsfield Storage Kids 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise.	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Traverwood Kids Books 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise	4-week checkout	On Shelf
Westgate Storage Kids 4-week checkout	Kids Book / Holidays / Thanksgiving / Kiernan, Denise.	4-week checkout	On Shelf

"All across the world, among hundreds of cultures, over centuries, people have come together to give thanks. But in America, we didn't have an official Thanksgiving holiday until the 1800s. The holiday Americans know today exists because of a woman named Sarah Josepha Hale, a spirited letter-writing campaign, a sympathetic president, and a civil war."-- Front jacket flap.

REVIEWS & SUMMARIES

School Library Journal Review
Publishers Weekly Review
Summary / Annotation
Author Notes

COMMUNITY REVIEWS

Thanksgiving History...Without the Origin Story submitted by Meginator on June 28, 2023, 10:59pm This book offers a slightly different perspective on the history of Thanksgiving than most by skirting around its supposed origins and focusing instead on the holiday’s central idea of gratitude and the way in which Sarah Josepha Hale’s concerted efforts eventually led to official recognition, and a standardized date of celebration, in the United States. The author and illustrator make their own concerted effort to highlight people from various cultural traditions, including Indigenous North Americans, and what they might be grateful for, although the choices for nonwhite characters do stick to familiar stereotypes; as a white reader, this and the complete omission of any origin story made me a little uncomfortable, although I cannot presume to speak for the experiences of readers from other backgrounds. The book certainly seems to actively attempt to avoid controversy, and I think it is largely successful in this regard given the way that it sticks to the Civil War-era origins of the federal holiday, the development of traditions like the Presidential turkey pardon, and the day’s purported purpose. The illustrations are wonderful, with slightly morphing styles that pair well with the text as it tackles different subjects, and use color to excellent effect. This is an imperfect book, and it is perhaps slightly too careful in its desire to avoid scrutiny, but it does achieve what it sets out to do and could be a good addition to other books that take a more thorough, and more critical, look at the holiday’s history; for a book published in 2022, this seems like a large and purposeful omission, indeed.