Book cover of Thanksgiving in the Woods

Book description

Every year a family and their friends gather in the woods to celebrate Thanksgiving among the trees. Everyone brings something to share and the day becomes a long celebration of family, faith, and friendship. Told in a gentle, lyrical style, this picture book includes warm illustrations of people gathered around…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Thanksgiving in the Woods as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

There is no better book on Thanksgiving for young children than Phyllis Alsdurf’s Thanksgiving in the Woods, which recounts the true story of the annual holiday dinner that a group of family and friends celebrate in the woods of upstate New York. Gorgeous illustrations by Jenny Lovlie evoke the famous First Thanksgiving of 1621, when Pilgrims and Indians enjoyed a three-day harvest feast in the woods of New England. Four hundred years later, the meaning of the holiday remains the same. As Thanksgiving in the Woods explains, Thanksgiving is about faith, family, and friends. 

This is a heartwarming story, based on a real family who has hosted a "Thanksgiving in the Woods" for over twenty years. The illustrations are perfect for this tale, and the author takes us along for this special celebration. Wood planks and hay bales are set up to create long tables. The kids build a fort where they eat a traditional Thanksgiving meal, complete with singing songs, dancing, and roasting marshmallows over a bonfire. (Note: with this listing on Amazon, you'll find a video of the actual Thanksgiving in the Woods.)

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