I always love breaking out the holiday and seasonal book boxes, and have shared some of our Montessori friendly fall favorites in the past. We also have a collection of reality-based Thanksgiving books that we’ve slowly added to over the past few years. This year, I also wanted to continue my intentions of sharing more about American Indian cultures with the boys through what we read. (My boys are a little over a quarter American Indian from the Lumbee tribe.)
Many things about early Pilgrims and American Indians are not age-appropriate to share with the boys yet, but they can still have some beginning exposure. We were gifted some books last year and added some new ones to our collection that were written by American Indian authors and share more about their culture. Here are some of the more “traditional” Thanksgiving books and books about American Indian cultures that we’ve been loving this season-
Our Favorite “Thankful Season” Books
|one| Thanks for Thanksgiving– A new favorite that describes various things that kids might have to be thankful for
|two|My First Thanksgiving– great for young toddlers
|three| Happy Thanksgiving– Love this one so much for younger babies. Bright Baby books are so Montessori-friendly because they focus on simple, realistic parts of holidays and seasons.
|four|Over the River and Through the Woods– Beautiful illustrations
|five|Thanksgiving in the Woods– Also beautiful illustrations and a magical storyline about an extended family preparing for their big Thanksgiving celebration in the woods
|six|Sometimes It’s Turkey-Sometimes It’s Feathers– A super cute storyline to this one. Asher’s favorite!
|seven|This is the Turkey– An entertaining story about different elements of a Thanksgiving get-together and what happens when the turkey has a mishap!
|eight|Fry Bread– A book that describes a traditional native food, fry bread, with tons of wonderful sensory language
|nine|Bowwow Powwow– Not Montessori friendly (the main character has a dream about the powwow that gives dogs human characteristics) but an amazing book that is translated from Ojibwe
|ten|D is for Drum– describes factual information about native cultures through each letter of the alphabet
|eleven|Soft Rain– This would be a great one for older kids (elementary school). It’s a fictional, but realistic and appropriate, story of a young girl and her family’s experience on the Trail of Tears.
|twelve| We Are Water Protectors– Aiden’s current favorite book. Shares about the importance of protecting the water and our planet.
Those are the (mostly) Montessori friendly Thanksgiving books we’ve been enjoying! It’s been important to me to also add books to our “Thanksgiving” collection that celebrate indigenous authors and cultures. You can head to my Amazon storefront to see some other options and head to my Instagram page to get a glance at some of these books saved in my story highlights.
I hope that as they grow older, it will help my boys to have both an accurate historical understanding of Thanksgiving as well as an appreciation for the focus on thankfulness and gratitude that the season brings. What are some of your favorite Thanksgiving books?
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