Thanksgiving is here! Thanksgiving is one of our favorite holidays both inside and outside of the classroom. We love using this time of year to build up our classroom community and talk about family traditions. One of our favorite ways to do this is to read aloud Thanksgiving themed books! Check out our favorites below.
All Thanksgiving books shared in this post contain affiliate links. With no additional cost to you, this allows us to make a small commission if you purchase a book through our link and helps support Double Dose of Learning.
Balloons Over Broadway
We love the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade so of course we love reading Balloons Over Broadway. This is an amazing story of Tony Sarg, the inventor of the parade balloon. It is a great book about inventions, engineering, and how we can study things we know to create new things.
Gratitude is my Superpower
Do you want to teach your students to be grateful for what they already have? In Gratitude is my SuperPower, Little Betsy learns that happiness is made up of simple things in life, both small and big.
Thanksgiving in the Woods
This story is all about a group of family and friends who gather in the woods to celebrate Thanksgiving. Thanksgiving in the Woods has gorgeous illustrations and is a truly heartwarming story. We love to use it to discuss and share our family’s traditions surrounding the holiday.
How to Catch a Turkey
If your class loves STEM projects, then this book is for you! In How to Catch a Turkey, a turkey is running loose in a school right before a Thanksgiving play. Follow along as students turn their school upside down trying to catch the turkey, ending with a twist that ensures no turkeys are harmed (or eaten!).
Turkey Trouble
This hilarious book will have your students laughing out loud. In Turkey Trouble a turkey tried to avoid Thanksgiving by finding the perfect disguise. After reading it, have your students design their own disguise for the turkey.
Squanto’s Journey
Squanto’s Journey tells the story of the first Thanksgiving from Squanto’s perspective. We love that it incorporates true facts about his life before the Pilgrims. It is a great opportunity to learn about the history behind Thanksgiving.
The Ugly Pumpkin
The Ugly Pumpkin has waited all through October for someone to take him home, but no one wants him. He doesn’t look like other pumpkins. So the lonely Ugly Pumpkin leaves the patch in search of a place where he’ll fit in. By the time Thanksgiving arrives, he discovers the truth about who he is–but it’s not what he expected!
Thanksgiving Is…
The story Thanksgiving Is… helps explain the history and origins of Thanksgiving. It has just the right amount of history for young students while also being fun and engaging.
The Story of the Pilgrims
From the dangerous voyage across the Atlantic to the first harsh winter to the delicious Thanksgiving feast, all the excitement and wonder of the Pilgrims’ first year in America is captured in this vivid retelling for the youngest historians. The Story of the Pilgrims is a great read aloud for Thanksgiving.
If you were a Kid on the Mayflower
Help your students make connections to history with If you were a Kid on the Mayflower. Learn what living conditions were like aboard The Mayflower, what dangers the Pilgrims faced at sea, and much more.
After reading…
All of these books make a great companion text for our Thanksgiving Pocketbook Unit. This unit includes reading materials and interactive materials on The Mayflower Voyage, The Pilgrims and Plymouth Plantation, The Native Americans (Wampanoag Tribe) and bonus a Thanksgiving Then and Now Comprehension Workbook.
Did we miss your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
