Thanksgiving in New York City |
New York City has to be one of the greatest places in America, if not the world.
Luckily for us, many authors have chronicled The Big Apple's antics in a way just right
for kids.
Here are some of
the books available. This is not yet a complete list, but I'm adding
books to the list daily. If you wish to purchase any of these books, click on either the title or the book cover to be directed to Amazon.com. As a warning, I have put up pictures of the book covers to give you somewhat an idea of the style of each book (I know, I know. "Don't judge a book by its cover") so the pages may load slowly, depending on the speed of your internet connection.
The categories below are sorted by approximate age group and topical categories. Feel free to browse around. The same links are located on the left side of your screen. To return back to this page, simply click on the "Welcome" link on the left.
If this website came up without frames, click here to see the complete "New York City Books for Kids" website with frames.
Other Pages of Interest:
Fiction & Historical Fiction:
General Books About New York City (Nonfiction) |
Fiction NYC Picture Books and "Easy Reader" Stories (Ages 4-8) |
Fiction NYC Books (Ages 9-12) |
New York Fiction for Young Adults |
New York Historical Fiction (Colonial Period and Revolutionary War) |
New York Historical Fiction (Ellis Island & Immigration) |
New York Historical Fiction (Life in the 1800s) |
New York Historical Fiction (Life in the 1900s)
NYC History:
New York Biographies |
Native Americans from New York (History and Historical Fiction) |
New York History (Colonial Period and Revolutionary War) |
New York History (Immigration and Ellis Island) |
New York History (The 1800s) |
New York History (The 1900s) |
The World Trade Center and September 11, 2001 |
NYC Locations:
The Statue of Liberty |
The Empire State Building |
Central Park |
NYC Art Museums (Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, etc.) |
NYC's American Museum of Natural History |
Harlem Books (Including books about the Harlem Renaissance) |
Chinatown Books |
Little Italy Books |
The New York City Subway System |
Brooklyn Books |
The Bronx Books |
Queens Books |
Staten Island Books |
Long Island Books |
Upstate New York Books |
New York State Books
Life and Travel in NYC:
Thanksgiving in New York City |
Christmas in New York City |
New York Sports Teams and Players
The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) and NY Police Department (NYPD) |
General Books About Cities |
New York City and New York State Test Preparation and Study Guides |
New York Regents Review Books |
Parenting in New York City |
New York Travel Guides for Families with Children
NYC Toys, Puzzles, and Games (For Kids & Adults) |
Amazon.com Coupon Codes
Beginning Readers
Macy's on Parade: A Pop-Up Celebration of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
By Pamela Pease
Opening with a pop-up spread of the two-million-plus crowd gathering in eager anticipation, Macy's On Parade!: A Pop-Up for Children of All Ages by Pamela Pease includes the parade route on a tiny map tucked into a pocket, and sparkly confetti so readers can join the festivities. The Radio City Rockettes spring up in front of the Macy's storefront in one spread; the climax is a 3-D float of Santa's sleigh.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Milly and the Macy's Parade
By Shana Corey & Brett Helquist
Inspired by the true story behind the first Macy's Day Parade in 1924, this heartwarming tale celebrates a treasured American passion. When a spirited girl named Milly imagines a way to combine her family's old country traditions with their new American heritage, the result is a holiday season filled with mirth and magic - and the creation of a uniquely American event. Told with facility and flair, and illustrated with exquisite jewel-like paintings, this joyful picture book is a must-have for every American family.
Description from Publisher
The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a highlight of the New York City holiday season with its marching bands and big balloons. In this story, set in 1924, Corey envisions a little girl whose immigrant Polish father works for Mr. Macy himself. Milly has the run of the store and can fly through the revolving doors and ride up and down the escalators and the elevators. She and all the fashionably dressed customers think that the Christmas merchandise is "gorgeous." But while Milly and her family are growing accustomed to America, they miss one wonderful custom from the old country: strolling from house to house singing Christmas carols. The child determinedly proposes to Mr. Macy a parade as an alternative. The marchers begin in Harlem with festive costumes, bands, and animals from the Central Park Zoo and end up on 34th Street. And so the annual festivity takes root. Helquist's acrylic-and-oil paintings feature colorfully dressed people with angular faces and bodies outlined in black. The author's note gives a history of the parade and acknowledges that while R. H. Macy himself died in 1877, he is a known character "-immortalized in the 1947 classic book and film Miracle on 34th Street-." While the references to the Follies and the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts may be lost on children, this is an entertaining and lively variation on holiday stories.
Description from School Library Journal
Fat Chance Thanksgiving
By Patricia Lakin
After the fire burned through Carla and Mama's apartment, all Carla had left was her beloved book, "A Pilgrim Thanksgiving." Carla read the book over and over. She pretended to be the smiling Pilgrim girl sitting at the feast table, surrounded by family and friends. A year later, when they were finally in a tiny apartment of their own, Carla asked Mama if they could have a Thanksgiving feast. "Fat chance," said Mama, who thought there was no room--and no extra money--for a big dinner. But Carla didn't give up. She and Julio, her new neighbor and friend, decided the building's lobby would be the perfect location for Thanksgiving dinner. And couldn't the residents all pitch in and bring the food?
Description from Publisher
In this story set in New York City, Carla and her mother are placed in an apartment after a one-year wait. The child's only possession, saved from a fire that destroyed their belongings, is a book, A Pilgrim Thanksgiving. Carla imagines herself as a Pilgrim girl and identifies her new home as a new land. When she mentions having a Thanksgiving feast, her mother's response is, "Fat chance." Undaunted, the youngster organizes a potluck dinner in the apartment-house lobby where strangers become friends and neighbors. The presentation is somewhat didactic and the ending is not surprising. However, the message is clear. The story and acrylic-and-gouache illustrations showing the Pilgrim feast juxtaposed with the modern urban apartment will be helpful in bringing the two worlds together. The illustrations are clear and colorful and large enough for a read-aloud. At the same time, the text is simple enough for beginning readers and the format will appeal to reluctant readers. This title is likely to have seasonal demand.
Description from School Library Journal
Lakin's sweet story, an ode to the spirit of Thanksgiving, challenges children to imagine what it must be like to lose everything. When the inner-city apartment Carla and her mother live in is destroyed by fire, Carla's sole remaining possession is a book about the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving, which she reads over and over as she waits to move to a new home. The idea of a Thanksgiving feast travels with her when she and her mother settle into their new place. But the apartments are small, money is tight, and the neighbors self-absorbed. Still, Carla is determined, and she rallies the residents for a potluck. The food reflects the diversity of the neighbors--from traditional sweet potato pie to Irish stew to roti bread--and everyone has a wonderful time as they discover the joy of community. A loving story of determination and sharing brought to life in richly colored, expressive artwork.
Description from Booklist
Rivka's First Thanksgiving
By Elsa Okon Rael
More than anything, Rivka wants to celebrate Thanksgiving. She has learned all about
the holiday in school and knows her family has a lot to be thankful for in America.
But Rivka's parents are Jewish immigrants from Poland, and they wonder what Pilgrims
and Indians have to do with them. Is Thanksgiving really a holiday for Jews?
Rivka's grandmother, Bubbeh, decides to take over: She will bring Rivka to see the
Rabbi Yoshe Preminger -- and whatever the Rabbi concludes, Rivka will have to live
with. Rivka knows that Thanksgiving is a holiday for all Americans, from all backgrounds
and religions. But how can she convince the esteemed Rabbi Preminger?
Elsa Okon Rael and Maryann Kovalski bring the bustling Lower East Side to life in this
heartwarming story. Set in the 1910s, Rivka's First Thanksgiving is about respecting
old traditions while embracing new ones, about giving thanks and celebrating freedom
in America. Perhaps most important, Rivka's story teaches us that even the wisest
adults have something to learn from children.
Description from Publisher
This paean to the wisdom of children is based on Rael's
(What
Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street) own memories as a child of Jewish immigrants growing up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and will remind many readers of Barbara Cohen's Molly's Pilgrim. Like Cohen's tale, Rivka Rubin's story is set in early 20th-century New York City. In Rael's treatment, however, it is the child who understands intuitively that Thanksgiving is indeed a holiday for all Americans and thus may rightfully be embraced by recently arrived Jews, for they have much to be grateful for in having arrived in the US. It's not so easy to convince the adults around her, though, unfamiliar as they are with this American tradition. The neighborhood's revered rabbi initially decides that Thanksgiving is not a celebration for Jews, and that's enough to settle the matter for Rivka's family. Determinedly and with a show of the special brand of chutzpah given only to children, Rivka writes the rabbi a letter that begins: "My Bubbeh believes you are the wisest man in the whole world, but I cannot agree with her." The rabbi ultimately gives his blessing to Rivka's argument and is invited to sit at the head of the table at the Rubin family's first Thanksgiving celebration in America. Kovalski's (Jingle Bells, 1999, etc.) charming drawings, rendered in colored pencils and acrylics, burst with good cheer and beautifully depict the bustling streets of the Lower East Side and its close-knit families.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey
By Joy Cowley
Spanish Edition Also Available
Miguel, a Puerto Rican boy in New York City, receives a surprise package from his absentee truck-driving father-a gigantic wooden crate with the message: "Fatten this turkey for Thanksgiving. I'll be home to share it with you. Love from Pap." What ensues is a humorous story of Miguel's increasing attachment to the bird he nicknames Gracias. His new amiga follows him everywhere, even to Mass. Will Miguel be able to save Gracias from being seasoned and cooked? Can Pap make it home in time for the holidays? This picture book, illustrated with colorful oil paintings, offers a heartwarming narrative that captures the boy's close-knit sense of community and family.
Description from School Library Journal
Little Miguel lives in a New York City apartment with his grandparents and his aunt, while his truck-driving father is on the road. Papa sends Miguel a turkey to fatten for Thanksgiving, but the boy names the bird Gracias and loves him as a pet. As the holiday approaches, Gracias' fate looms darkly over the festivities. However, when Gracias follows Miguel to church and receives Padre Jaime's blessing, even Abuelo and Abuela concede that they must have chicken for Thanksgiving, because "no one can eat a turkey that's been blessed." Cowley creates a distinctive, modern setting for the old theme of a turkey who sits at rather than on the Thanksgiving table. Although city life is not idealized (at one point a thief steals Gracias), most of the neighbors in Miguel's multiethnic community take a friendly interest in the boy and his bird. The inclusion of Spanish words within the text is handled well, with most meanings evident from the context, but a short glossary also appears on the last page. Cepeda's oil paintings, reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats' illustrations, vividly create Miguel's colorful, sympathetic community as well as individual characters.
Description from Booklist
We're Back!: A Dinosaur's Story
By Hudson Talbott
What happens when scientists from outer space test a new brain-developing product on dinosaurs, educate them, and drop them off in the middle of Manhattan's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Those five and up will adore the off-beat humor of this prehistoric tour de force.
Description from Parents Magazine
Vorb hangs down from a flying saucer and offers some dinosaurs the break of a lifetime; he's from Mega-Mind Inc. and is test-marketing a new product, Brain Grainwith an extra special bonus prize and free snacks. With Brain Grain, a dinosaur first experiences a "new me" and, eventually, a "new us." The prize? A drop into midtown Manhattan in the 20th century. Destination: Dr. Bleeb's Museum of Natural History. The gang parades in a Thanksgiving celebration but soon they're discovered to be real out-of-towners and are chased all the way to the museum, where they're saved by Dr. Bleeb. Those who think original dinosaur books are extinct are going to change their minds with this one. A very welcome bunch of monsters has landed in kids' laps; Talbot's prehistoric characters exhibit real stage presence, from the glint in their eyes to the way they slather over those snacks.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Older Readers
No-Thanks Thanksgiving
By Ilene Cooper
Looking forward to spending her Thanksgiving birthday in New York City, Kathy devises a way of bringing her best friends along and attending a parade and a Broadway show, but squabbles among the friends threaten to spoil everything.
Description from Publisher
Karen's Turkey Day
By Ann Matthews Martin
Anticipating all the Thanksgiving festivities, including a visit by her grandparents and the New York City parade, Karen fears things are going from bad to worse when Grandad gets sick and her parents become occupied with grownup things.
Description from Publisher
Back to "New York City Books for Kids"
Still can't find what you're looking for? Search Amazon.com's database directly.
©2002-2003
(NOTE: The advertisements below have not been placed on the site by its owners. We are not responsible for their content.)
Other Pages of Interest:
Fiction & Historical Fiction:
General Books About New York City (Nonfiction) |
Fiction NYC Picture Books and "Easy Reader" Stories (Ages 4-8) |
Fiction NYC Books (Ages 9-12) |
New York Fiction for Young Adults |
New York Historical Fiction (Colonial Period and Revolutionary War) |
New York Historical Fiction (Ellis Island & Immigration) |
New York Historical Fiction (Life in the 1800s) |
New York Historical Fiction (Life in the 1900s)
NYC History:
New York Biographies |
Native Americans from New York (History and Historical Fiction) |
New York History (Colonial Period and Revolutionary War) |
New York History (Immigration and Ellis Island) |
New York History (The 1800s) |
New York History (The 1900s) |
The World Trade Center and September 11, 2001 |
NYC Locations:
The Statue of Liberty |
The Empire State Building |
Central Park |
NYC Art Museums (Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, etc.) |
NYC's American Museum of Natural History |
Harlem Books (Including books about the Harlem Renaissance) |
Chinatown Books |
Little Italy Books |
The New York City Subway System |
Brooklyn Books |
The Bronx Books |
Queens Books |
Staten Island Books |
Long Island Books |
Upstate New York Books |
New York State Books
Life and Travel in NYC:
Thanksgiving in New York City |
Christmas in New York City |
New York Sports Teams and Players
The NYC Fire Department (FDNY) and NY Police Department (NYPD) |
General Books About Cities |
New York City and New York State Test Preparation and Study Guides |
New York Regents Review Books |
Parenting in New York City |
New York Travel Guides for Families with Children
NYC Toys, Puzzles, and Games (For Kids & Adults) |
Amazon.com Coupon Codes
Beginning Readers
Macy's on Parade: A Pop-Up Celebration of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
By Pamela Pease
Opening with a pop-up spread of the two-million-plus crowd gathering in eager anticipation, Macy's On Parade!: A Pop-Up for Children of All Ages by Pamela Pease includes the parade route on a tiny map tucked into a pocket, and sparkly confetti so readers can join the festivities. The Radio City Rockettes spring up in front of the Macy's storefront in one spread; the climax is a 3-D float of Santa's sleigh.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Milly and the Macy's Parade
By Shana Corey & Brett Helquist
Inspired by the true story behind the first Macy's Day Parade in 1924, this heartwarming tale celebrates a treasured American passion. When a spirited girl named Milly imagines a way to combine her family's old country traditions with their new American heritage, the result is a holiday season filled with mirth and magic - and the creation of a uniquely American event. Told with facility and flair, and illustrated with exquisite jewel-like paintings, this joyful picture book is a must-have for every American family.
Description from Publisher
The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a highlight of the New York City holiday season with its marching bands and big balloons. In this story, set in 1924, Corey envisions a little girl whose immigrant Polish father works for Mr. Macy himself. Milly has the run of the store and can fly through the revolving doors and ride up and down the escalators and the elevators. She and all the fashionably dressed customers think that the Christmas merchandise is "gorgeous." But while Milly and her family are growing accustomed to America, they miss one wonderful custom from the old country: strolling from house to house singing Christmas carols. The child determinedly proposes to Mr. Macy a parade as an alternative. The marchers begin in Harlem with festive costumes, bands, and animals from the Central Park Zoo and end up on 34th Street. And so the annual festivity takes root. Helquist's acrylic-and-oil paintings feature colorfully dressed people with angular faces and bodies outlined in black. The author's note gives a history of the parade and acknowledges that while R. H. Macy himself died in 1877, he is a known character "-immortalized in the 1947 classic book and film Miracle on 34th Street-." While the references to the Follies and the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts may be lost on children, this is an entertaining and lively variation on holiday stories.
Description from School Library Journal
Fat Chance Thanksgiving
By Patricia Lakin
After the fire burned through Carla and Mama's apartment, all Carla had left was her beloved book, "A Pilgrim Thanksgiving." Carla read the book over and over. She pretended to be the smiling Pilgrim girl sitting at the feast table, surrounded by family and friends. A year later, when they were finally in a tiny apartment of their own, Carla asked Mama if they could have a Thanksgiving feast. "Fat chance," said Mama, who thought there was no room--and no extra money--for a big dinner. But Carla didn't give up. She and Julio, her new neighbor and friend, decided the building's lobby would be the perfect location for Thanksgiving dinner. And couldn't the residents all pitch in and bring the food?
Description from Publisher
In this story set in New York City, Carla and her mother are placed in an apartment after a one-year wait. The child's only possession, saved from a fire that destroyed their belongings, is a book, A Pilgrim Thanksgiving. Carla imagines herself as a Pilgrim girl and identifies her new home as a new land. When she mentions having a Thanksgiving feast, her mother's response is, "Fat chance." Undaunted, the youngster organizes a potluck dinner in the apartment-house lobby where strangers become friends and neighbors. The presentation is somewhat didactic and the ending is not surprising. However, the message is clear. The story and acrylic-and-gouache illustrations showing the Pilgrim feast juxtaposed with the modern urban apartment will be helpful in bringing the two worlds together. The illustrations are clear and colorful and large enough for a read-aloud. At the same time, the text is simple enough for beginning readers and the format will appeal to reluctant readers. This title is likely to have seasonal demand.
Description from School Library Journal
Lakin's sweet story, an ode to the spirit of Thanksgiving, challenges children to imagine what it must be like to lose everything. When the inner-city apartment Carla and her mother live in is destroyed by fire, Carla's sole remaining possession is a book about the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving, which she reads over and over as she waits to move to a new home. The idea of a Thanksgiving feast travels with her when she and her mother settle into their new place. But the apartments are small, money is tight, and the neighbors self-absorbed. Still, Carla is determined, and she rallies the residents for a potluck. The food reflects the diversity of the neighbors--from traditional sweet potato pie to Irish stew to roti bread--and everyone has a wonderful time as they discover the joy of community. A loving story of determination and sharing brought to life in richly colored, expressive artwork.
Description from Booklist
Rivka's First Thanksgiving
By Elsa Okon Rael
More than anything, Rivka wants to celebrate Thanksgiving. She has learned all about
the holiday in school and knows her family has a lot to be thankful for in America.
But Rivka's parents are Jewish immigrants from Poland, and they wonder what Pilgrims
and Indians have to do with them. Is Thanksgiving really a holiday for Jews?
Rivka's grandmother, Bubbeh, decides to take over: She will bring Rivka to see the
Rabbi Yoshe Preminger -- and whatever the Rabbi concludes, Rivka will have to live
with. Rivka knows that Thanksgiving is a holiday for all Americans, from all backgrounds
and religions. But how can she convince the esteemed Rabbi Preminger?
Elsa Okon Rael and Maryann Kovalski bring the bustling Lower East Side to life in this
heartwarming story. Set in the 1910s, Rivka's First Thanksgiving is about respecting
old traditions while embracing new ones, about giving thanks and celebrating freedom
in America. Perhaps most important, Rivka's story teaches us that even the wisest
adults have something to learn from children.
Description from Publisher
This paean to the wisdom of children is based on Rael's
(What
Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street) own memories as a child of Jewish immigrants growing up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and will remind many readers of Barbara Cohen's Molly's Pilgrim. Like Cohen's tale, Rivka Rubin's story is set in early 20th-century New York City. In Rael's treatment, however, it is the child who understands intuitively that Thanksgiving is indeed a holiday for all Americans and thus may rightfully be embraced by recently arrived Jews, for they have much to be grateful for in having arrived in the US. It's not so easy to convince the adults around her, though, unfamiliar as they are with this American tradition. The neighborhood's revered rabbi initially decides that Thanksgiving is not a celebration for Jews, and that's enough to settle the matter for Rivka's family. Determinedly and with a show of the special brand of chutzpah given only to children, Rivka writes the rabbi a letter that begins: "My Bubbeh believes you are the wisest man in the whole world, but I cannot agree with her." The rabbi ultimately gives his blessing to Rivka's argument and is invited to sit at the head of the table at the Rubin family's first Thanksgiving celebration in America. Kovalski's (Jingle Bells, 1999, etc.) charming drawings, rendered in colored pencils and acrylics, burst with good cheer and beautifully depict the bustling streets of the Lower East Side and its close-knit families.
Description from Kirkus Reviews
Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey
By Joy Cowley
Spanish Edition Also Available
Miguel, a Puerto Rican boy in New York City, receives a surprise package from his absentee truck-driving father-a gigantic wooden crate with the message: "Fatten this turkey for Thanksgiving. I'll be home to share it with you. Love from Pap." What ensues is a humorous story of Miguel's increasing attachment to the bird he nicknames Gracias. His new amiga follows him everywhere, even to Mass. Will Miguel be able to save Gracias from being seasoned and cooked? Can Pap make it home in time for the holidays? This picture book, illustrated with colorful oil paintings, offers a heartwarming narrative that captures the boy's close-knit sense of community and family.
Description from School Library Journal
Little Miguel lives in a New York City apartment with his grandparents and his aunt, while his truck-driving father is on the road. Papa sends Miguel a turkey to fatten for Thanksgiving, but the boy names the bird Gracias and loves him as a pet. As the holiday approaches, Gracias' fate looms darkly over the festivities. However, when Gracias follows Miguel to church and receives Padre Jaime's blessing, even Abuelo and Abuela concede that they must have chicken for Thanksgiving, because "no one can eat a turkey that's been blessed." Cowley creates a distinctive, modern setting for the old theme of a turkey who sits at rather than on the Thanksgiving table. Although city life is not idealized (at one point a thief steals Gracias), most of the neighbors in Miguel's multiethnic community take a friendly interest in the boy and his bird. The inclusion of Spanish words within the text is handled well, with most meanings evident from the context, but a short glossary also appears on the last page. Cepeda's oil paintings, reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats' illustrations, vividly create Miguel's colorful, sympathetic community as well as individual characters.
Description from Booklist
We're Back!: A Dinosaur's Story
By Hudson Talbott
What happens when scientists from outer space test a new brain-developing product on dinosaurs, educate them, and drop them off in the middle of Manhattan's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Those five and up will adore the off-beat humor of this prehistoric tour de force.
Description from Parents Magazine
Vorb hangs down from a flying saucer and offers some dinosaurs the break of a lifetime; he's from Mega-Mind Inc. and is test-marketing a new product, Brain Grainwith an extra special bonus prize and free snacks. With Brain Grain, a dinosaur first experiences a "new me" and, eventually, a "new us." The prize? A drop into midtown Manhattan in the 20th century. Destination: Dr. Bleeb's Museum of Natural History. The gang parades in a Thanksgiving celebration but soon they're discovered to be real out-of-towners and are chased all the way to the museum, where they're saved by Dr. Bleeb. Those who think original dinosaur books are extinct are going to change their minds with this one. A very welcome bunch of monsters has landed in kids' laps; Talbot's prehistoric characters exhibit real stage presence, from the glint in their eyes to the way they slather over those snacks.
Description from Publishers Weekly
Older Readers
No-Thanks Thanksgiving
By Ilene Cooper
Looking forward to spending her Thanksgiving birthday in New York City, Kathy devises a way of bringing her best friends along and attending a parade and a Broadway show, but squabbles among the friends threaten to spoil everything.
Description from Publisher
Karen's Turkey Day
By Ann Matthews Martin
Anticipating all the Thanksgiving festivities, including a visit by her grandparents and the New York City parade, Karen fears things are going from bad to worse when Grandad gets sick and her parents become occupied with grownup things.
Description from Publisher
Back to "New York City Books for Kids"
Still can't find what you're looking for? Search Amazon.com's database directly.
©2002-2003
(NOTE: The advertisements below have not been placed on the site by its owners. We are not responsible for their content.)
Beginning Readers |
|
Macy's on Parade: A Pop-Up Celebration of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade By Pamela Pease |
Opening with a pop-up spread of the two-million-plus crowd gathering in eager anticipation, Macy's On Parade!: A Pop-Up for Children of All Ages by Pamela Pease includes the parade route on a tiny map tucked into a pocket, and sparkly confetti so readers can join the festivities. The Radio City Rockettes spring up in front of the Macy's storefront in one spread; the climax is a 3-D float of Santa's sleigh.
|
|
Milly and the Macy's Parade By Shana Corey & Brett Helquist |
Inspired by the true story behind the first Macy's Day Parade in 1924, this heartwarming tale celebrates a treasured American passion. When a spirited girl named Milly imagines a way to combine her family's old country traditions with their new American heritage, the result is a holiday season filled with mirth and magic - and the creation of a uniquely American event. Told with facility and flair, and illustrated with exquisite jewel-like paintings, this joyful picture book is a must-have for every American family.
The annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade is a highlight of the New York City holiday season with its marching bands and big balloons. In this story, set in 1924, Corey envisions a little girl whose immigrant Polish father works for Mr. Macy himself. Milly has the run of the store and can fly through the revolving doors and ride up and down the escalators and the elevators. She and all the fashionably dressed customers think that the Christmas merchandise is "gorgeous." But while Milly and her family are growing accustomed to America, they miss one wonderful custom from the old country: strolling from house to house singing Christmas carols. The child determinedly proposes to Mr. Macy a parade as an alternative. The marchers begin in Harlem with festive costumes, bands, and animals from the Central Park Zoo and end up on 34th Street. And so the annual festivity takes root. Helquist's acrylic-and-oil paintings feature colorfully dressed people with angular faces and bodies outlined in black. The author's note gives a history of the parade and acknowledges that while R. H. Macy himself died in 1877, he is a known character "-immortalized in the 1947 classic book and film Miracle on 34th Street-." While the references to the Follies and the Rockefellers and the Vanderbilts may be lost on children, this is an entertaining and lively variation on holiday stories. |
|
Fat Chance Thanksgiving By Patricia Lakin |
After the fire burned through Carla and Mama's apartment, all Carla had left was her beloved book, "A Pilgrim Thanksgiving." Carla read the book over and over. She pretended to be the smiling Pilgrim girl sitting at the feast table, surrounded by family and friends. A year later, when they were finally in a tiny apartment of their own, Carla asked Mama if they could have a Thanksgiving feast. "Fat chance," said Mama, who thought there was no room--and no extra money--for a big dinner. But Carla didn't give up. She and Julio, her new neighbor and friend, decided the building's lobby would be the perfect location for Thanksgiving dinner. And couldn't the residents all pitch in and bring the food?
In this story set in New York City, Carla and her mother are placed in an apartment after a one-year wait. The child's only possession, saved from a fire that destroyed their belongings, is a book, A Pilgrim Thanksgiving. Carla imagines herself as a Pilgrim girl and identifies her new home as a new land. When she mentions having a Thanksgiving feast, her mother's response is, "Fat chance." Undaunted, the youngster organizes a potluck dinner in the apartment-house lobby where strangers become friends and neighbors. The presentation is somewhat didactic and the ending is not surprising. However, the message is clear. The story and acrylic-and-gouache illustrations showing the Pilgrim feast juxtaposed with the modern urban apartment will be helpful in bringing the two worlds together. The illustrations are clear and colorful and large enough for a read-aloud. At the same time, the text is simple enough for beginning readers and the format will appeal to reluctant readers. This title is likely to have seasonal demand. Lakin's sweet story, an ode to the spirit of Thanksgiving, challenges children to imagine what it must be like to lose everything. When the inner-city apartment Carla and her mother live in is destroyed by fire, Carla's sole remaining possession is a book about the Pilgrim's first Thanksgiving, which she reads over and over as she waits to move to a new home. The idea of a Thanksgiving feast travels with her when she and her mother settle into their new place. But the apartments are small, money is tight, and the neighbors self-absorbed. Still, Carla is determined, and she rallies the residents for a potluck. The food reflects the diversity of the neighbors--from traditional sweet potato pie to Irish stew to roti bread--and everyone has a wonderful time as they discover the joy of community. A loving story of determination and sharing brought to life in richly colored, expressive artwork. |
|
Rivka's First Thanksgiving By Elsa Okon Rael |
More than anything, Rivka wants to celebrate Thanksgiving. She has learned all about
the holiday in school and knows her family has a lot to be thankful for in America.
But Rivka's parents are Jewish immigrants from Poland, and they wonder what Pilgrims
and Indians have to do with them. Is Thanksgiving really a holiday for Jews?
Rivka's grandmother, Bubbeh, decides to take over: She will bring Rivka to see the Rabbi Yoshe Preminger -- and whatever the Rabbi concludes, Rivka will have to live with. Rivka knows that Thanksgiving is a holiday for all Americans, from all backgrounds and religions. But how can she convince the esteemed Rabbi Preminger? Elsa Okon Rael and Maryann Kovalski bring the bustling Lower East Side to life in this heartwarming story. Set in the 1910s, Rivka's First Thanksgiving is about respecting old traditions while embracing new ones, about giving thanks and celebrating freedom in America. Perhaps most important, Rivka's story teaches us that even the wisest adults have something to learn from children. This paean to the wisdom of children is based on Rael's (What Zeesie Saw on Delancey Street) own memories as a child of Jewish immigrants growing up on Manhattan's Lower East Side and will remind many readers of Barbara Cohen's Molly's Pilgrim. Like Cohen's tale, Rivka Rubin's story is set in early 20th-century New York City. In Rael's treatment, however, it is the child who understands intuitively that Thanksgiving is indeed a holiday for all Americans and thus may rightfully be embraced by recently arrived Jews, for they have much to be grateful for in having arrived in the US. It's not so easy to convince the adults around her, though, unfamiliar as they are with this American tradition. The neighborhood's revered rabbi initially decides that Thanksgiving is not a celebration for Jews, and that's enough to settle the matter for Rivka's family. Determinedly and with a show of the special brand of chutzpah given only to children, Rivka writes the rabbi a letter that begins: "My Bubbeh believes you are the wisest man in the whole world, but I cannot agree with her." The rabbi ultimately gives his blessing to Rivka's argument and is invited to sit at the head of the table at the Rubin family's first Thanksgiving celebration in America. Kovalski's (Jingle Bells, 1999, etc.) charming drawings, rendered in colored pencils and acrylics, burst with good cheer and beautifully depict the bustling streets of the Lower East Side and its close-knit families. |
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Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey By Joy Cowley
Spanish Edition Also Available |
Miguel, a Puerto Rican boy in New York City, receives a surprise package from his absentee truck-driving father-a gigantic wooden crate with the message: "Fatten this turkey for Thanksgiving. I'll be home to share it with you. Love from Pap." What ensues is a humorous story of Miguel's increasing attachment to the bird he nicknames Gracias. His new amiga follows him everywhere, even to Mass. Will Miguel be able to save Gracias from being seasoned and cooked? Can Pap make it home in time for the holidays? This picture book, illustrated with colorful oil paintings, offers a heartwarming narrative that captures the boy's close-knit sense of community and family.
Little Miguel lives in a New York City apartment with his grandparents and his aunt, while his truck-driving father is on the road. Papa sends Miguel a turkey to fatten for Thanksgiving, but the boy names the bird Gracias and loves him as a pet. As the holiday approaches, Gracias' fate looms darkly over the festivities. However, when Gracias follows Miguel to church and receives Padre Jaime's blessing, even Abuelo and Abuela concede that they must have chicken for Thanksgiving, because "no one can eat a turkey that's been blessed." Cowley creates a distinctive, modern setting for the old theme of a turkey who sits at rather than on the Thanksgiving table. Although city life is not idealized (at one point a thief steals Gracias), most of the neighbors in Miguel's multiethnic community take a friendly interest in the boy and his bird. The inclusion of Spanish words within the text is handled well, with most meanings evident from the context, but a short glossary also appears on the last page. Cepeda's oil paintings, reminiscent of Ezra Jack Keats' illustrations, vividly create Miguel's colorful, sympathetic community as well as individual characters. |
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We're Back!: A Dinosaur's Story By Hudson Talbott |
What happens when scientists from outer space test a new brain-developing product on dinosaurs, educate them, and drop them off in the middle of Manhattan's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Those five and up will adore the off-beat humor of this prehistoric tour de force.
Vorb hangs down from a flying saucer and offers some dinosaurs the break of a lifetime; he's from Mega-Mind Inc. and is test-marketing a new product, Brain Grainwith an extra special bonus prize and free snacks. With Brain Grain, a dinosaur first experiences a "new me" and, eventually, a "new us." The prize? A drop into midtown Manhattan in the 20th century. Destination: Dr. Bleeb's Museum of Natural History. The gang parades in a Thanksgiving celebration but soon they're discovered to be real out-of-towners and are chased all the way to the museum, where they're saved by Dr. Bleeb. Those who think original dinosaur books are extinct are going to change their minds with this one. A very welcome bunch of monsters has landed in kids' laps; Talbot's prehistoric characters exhibit real stage presence, from the glint in their eyes to the way they slather over those snacks. |
Older Readers |
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No-Thanks Thanksgiving By Ilene Cooper |
Looking forward to spending her Thanksgiving birthday in New York City, Kathy devises a way of bringing her best friends along and attending a parade and a Broadway show, but squabbles among the friends threaten to spoil everything.
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Karen's Turkey Day By Ann Matthews Martin |
Anticipating all the Thanksgiving festivities, including a visit by her grandparents and the New York City parade, Karen fears things are going from bad to worse when Grandad gets sick and her parents become occupied with grownup things.
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