On the Georgia-Florida border there is a book store. It is full of books for ridiculously cheap prices. They are all a few years old, or old library books. But when I lived in Florida and drove back home to Georgia regularly, it was my favorite stop (plus, there’s a Chick-fil-A on that exit, too!). I’d load up on books and read till we got home!
On the way home from Disney World a few months ago, we made our regular stop at the bookstore. And I found some great kids’ books! One of them I have been waiting and waiting to read because it’s a Thanksgiving book—Off to Plymouth Rock by Dandi Daley Mackall.
I love Dandi Daley Mackall anyway–she’s written some of my favorite picture books. This book is a very fun rhyme about the first Thanksgiving. It begins in England with the nervous Pilgrims packing up to leave for the new world. It follows them through their cold winter, their Indian friends and rescuers (Squanto, etc.) and ends with the first Thanksgiving meal.
The illustrations are so fun–they are whimsical and tell a fun story while reading along. Lydia’s favorite part was when they hit the shore of the new world, some of the pilgrims are kissing the ground and hugging the rocks. There’s also a silly turkey in almost every scene. The kids loved searching for him!
There’s also a nice undercurrent of friendship between a pilgrim girl and an Indian girl. It’s lovely to see the kids be friends–we always see the grown ups eating in the stories. But here, it’s the kids, too.
There isn’t a huge Christian theme to it. But it does mention them praying several times. And even the first page gives a nice talking point, “Leaving, grieving, still believing…” It made for an easy conversation about why the pilgrims left and what they were believing for–freedom to worship God without interference from the government!
Lydia and Asa are also excited about this book because it comes with a read-along CD. We love audio books, so as soon as we get in the car today, we’re going to listen to it! (That’s the only place we have a CD player!)
Do you have a fun Thanksgiving book to share?
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