Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Tri-Moms: The Real Meaning of Thanksgiving



This year Thanksgiving has crept up on me.  I guess it was partly the weather since it was still close to eighty degrees far into October.  Perhaps I was so overly absorbed with getting through the 31 Days of October that I forgot to remember that November was coming up next.  Or maybe it always happens this way, and just when I slow down from the summer, the busy-ness of the holidays arrives. 
Whatever the reason, it was November 4th before I realized that we hadn't begun our yearly tradition of sharing thankful thoughts around our dinner table.  Usually we are so anxious to start that we begin in October and no one wants it to end so we continue into December.  Last year added the challenge that no one could repeat what another person had said that same day and that you could not repeat your own things from day to day.  For example, if Gavin said he was thankful for sunshine, Maddie couldn't repeat that (though she could say that tomorrow) and Gavin couldn't say that any day for the rest of the month.  It was a way for all of us to look beyond the obvious and dig deep into what we were thankful for. 




It was well into the first week of November, too, before I dug out our Thanksgiving books.  I'll admit, as much as I love books, it is hard to find a Thanksgiving-themed book that grabs me.  When it comes to Christmas books, I could go on for paragraphs, but my Thanksgiving list is shorter. 



Our very, very favorite is Over the River and Through the Wood, a book my mom gifted us several years ago. My kids are huge Peanuts fans so they already recognized the song from the Thanksgiving special.  Even Alaine (14 months) has been able to  enjoy reading and re-reading this classic book-song this year. 








We also enjoy Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebrationby Julie Stiegmeyer.  I like that it is a well-written story that shares a little of the Pilgrims' journey yet shares Who they were giving thanks to on that first Thanksgiving.  So many books leave out that important element!  




Most of our Thanksgiving reads come from the library.  Last year, we read Molly's Pilgrimby Barbara Cohen for the first time at Kathi's urging.  It was a wonderfully different look at Thanksgiving and not at all what I was expecting.  It is oh-so-short and worth a few minutes of reading time.  This year we also stumbled on the cute and (mostly) true tale of  Tad Lincoln in Thanksgiving in the White Houseby Gary Hines which was fascinating to me and the three oldest, but a few too many words for Benjamin and Alaine. Thanksgiving Mice!by Bethany Roberts was more their speed and, despite being written for toddlers and young children, has a surprising amount of message fitted between its pages. 








Could you help me add to our list?  Do you have any Thanksgiving book suggestions? 

It is too easy to get caught up in the superficial at Thanksgiving-- focusing on the scrumptious meal and the cute little turkey decorations and the parade...and did I mention the food?  (It is by far my most favorite meal of the year!)   It can take a bit of effort to slow down long enough to turn our eyes upwards and remember the Giver of all good things, but without Him, there would be nothing to celebrate at all.







6 comments:

  1. Hi Kristin,
    I was not blogging last fall and missed yours and Kathi's posts about Thanksgiving books! This year, I did my own:

    http://wheremytreasureis.wordpress.com/2011/11/07/childrens-book-monday-fall-thanksgiving-edition/

    There are few others that you didn't mention that you may want to check out!

    Happy Thanksgiving!

    ~Anna

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  2. Hi again,

    I wanted to add...

    We got a book out of the library yesterday that sounds like it's just the kind of book you're looking for:

    "Thankful Together" by Holly Davis, illustrated by Valerie Sokolova

    It follows a mother and child through the day as they thankful God for His provision during different times of the day such as playtime, bath time and bedtime. It has cute illustrations and helps the children to think of things in their own "little" world that they can be thankful for.

    I need to add this one to my Thanksgiving book list!

    ~Anna

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  3. I urged you to go grab a book we've yet been able to get our hands on ourselves :)

    I linked every.single.November-ish book in my sidebar. I've been thinking of no more CBM, and just a HUGE 1st of the month post called "This Month's Book Basket" ... suits me better...my reviews are never as lovely as Elise's. But how I do love books. I do.

    We have an Over the River checked out from the Library right now. And! Did you know Jingle Bells is a Thanksgiving song...we've been driving Brian crazy :)

    Love ya, kathi

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  4. I'm just starting my search for Thanksgiving books, and am excited to try the ones you've mentioned! I can't say I have any suggestions yet - I haven't fallen in love with any that I've read so far.

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  5. I don't have any suggestions, but I took lots of your and Kathi's suggestions from last year and checked them out from the library today. I'm really looking forward to reading them with the kids over the next week or so. Thanks!

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  6. We love Thanksgiving Mice too!

    I'm posting a list of Thanksgiving books later this week, and the mice made the cut. :)

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