Nonna's Guide To Harvest Day Reading

Nonna's Guide to Harvest Day Reading

11/2/2020

Giving Thanks

The Thanksgiving Day holiday is quintessentially American -

and it is my favorite holiday! Christmas is wonderful, but Thanksgiving has always been, for me, about family and food -- without the stress of gift giving! A whole day to spend with family and friends, giving thanks for the many, many wonderful things in our lives. And eating so much good food. What is not to like!?

The Thanksgiving Day holiday is quintessentially American -

and, unfortunately, the Pilgrim and Indian stories we tell about the first Thanksgiving are simply not true -- worse, they were intentional untruths created during a time of heightened nationalism in the early 20th century as a way to tell immigrants what "real" Americans look like.

The Thanksgiving Day holiday is quintessentially American -

and, during this time of significant cultural upheaval, we have a golden opportunity to re-create a holiday which emphasizes the giving of thanks for those values which bind us together -- sharing community, shared responsibility, truthfulness, integrity, humility to name a few.

Perhaps we need to change the name from Thanksgiving to Harvest Day -- from the beginning of time harvest celebrations have centered around family, community and food! A true, quintessentially American day dedicated to giving thanks would be an inclusive celebration of all the diverse peoples and cultures which make up our country.

It's quite difficult to find "Thanksgiving" books for children which do not perpetuate the first Thanksgiving story, but I chose the following books with one thought in mind -- let's teach our children how important it is to purposefully practice inclusion as we give thanks for the good in our lives. It is difficult in this time of pandemic and social distancing to practice arms-open-wide-hospitality, but it is not difficult to talk about how we will welcome people who are different from ourselves in a not-too-distant future.

Mondays: Children's Picture Books

Gratitude takes practice, practice, practice. And it is so easy to fall out of practice!

I chose these three books for the youngest "readers" to remind us to say "thank you" as often as possible and that "thank you" is as strong as the community around you! And each one is visually stunning!

Tuesdays: Books for Emerging Readers

I chose these four titles for their use of language, as well as rhythm and rhymes in telling unique stories about family - from indigenous to immigrant.

Emerging readers will love to hear the rhymes over and over, and will ask lots of questions about differences they see in the illustrations.

Wednesdays: Early Chapter Books

Excellent early chapter books about Thanksgiving are few and far between; excellent early chapter books about Thanksgiving without any reference to Pilgrims & Indians and the first Thanksgiving are even more rare.

I chose these four titles to spark some wider awareness of how gratitude looks from different perspectives.

Thursdays: Books for Middle Readers

Although not chapter books and representing varied genres, I chose these titles because they speak from diverse cultural perspectives about history, immigration, equity and gratitude.

While the books may look like simple picture books, the material is worthy of 8 to 12 year olds.

Fridays: Young Adult Novels

These titles are not Thanksgiving stories, but stories asking the question, "what is home?" -- a perfect question for a day of giving thanks.

The stories look at the issues of freedom and maturity, preserving culture, poverty and race, as well as identity in terms of race and gender. Young adult novels such as these give teens a taste of the differences -- and similarities -- between families and cultures.

May your celebration be filled with giving thanks
and lots of good conversations,
Nonna

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