'Tis the Season of Gratitude (FAMILY magazine reviews

As temperatures drop and the time for frights and spooks passes, we turn our hearts toward each other with gratitude for the many abundances in our lives. Take time to savor this season and settle in with these standout stories to share with your favorite youngster. This is a time to celebrate and these well-told tales will only add to the festivities. Enjoy!

Bagels from Benny 

By Aubrey Davis

Illustrated by Dusan Petricic

            Rooted in an old Jewish folk tale from Spain, this version, with a young boy and his grandfather at its center, makes Davis’ retelling of the legend accessible to young readers. Benny loves to help his grandfather in the bakery, where he makes the best bagels in town. But Grandpa doesn’t want thanks for the bagels – he thinks God deserves thanks.      

            So, Benny devises a plan to thank God for the bagels – he leaves a bag of bagels in the synagogue every week. Since they disappear, Benny sees this as a sign that God has heard his thanks. That is, until Benny discovers that a poor man has been coming in to prayerfully and thankfully take the bagels. 

            Petricic’s watercolor illustrations, in round bagel shapes -- using mostly brown bagel tones, with occasional brighter colors as highlights – feature a captivating youngster with large ears and an expressive face. Additional small sepia colored drawings punctuate each opposing page to emphasize the text.

            Benny is crushed when he realizes what has really been happening with the bagels. But Grandpa, who followed Benny and has seen the poor man take the bagels from the synagogue, tells Benny that he has “made the world a little better. . . And what better thanks could God have?”

            This surprising and lovely story is a holiday delight to share especially beyond Jewish settings. Not only can young children understand and value the close bond between Benny and his Grandpa, but the heartfelt wonder of sharing and giving thanks is profound and appealing to both children and the adults in their lives.

Kids Can Press, $15.95 (hardcover) $7.95 (paperback)

Interest Level: Grade1-4

Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving 

By Laurie Halse Anderson

Illustrated by Matt Faulkner

            As we prepare for Thanksgiving celebrations many of us think of Native Americans and their kindness to the Pilgrims, especially as the two groups celebrated the harvest season with feasting. But without the tireless work of Sarah Hale (Right! The same “dainty little lady” who wrote “Mary Had A Little Lamb,” one of the most famous nursery rhymes in the US.) Thanksgiving might have just faded away.

            For nearly four decades, through four US presidents, Sarah wielded her mighty pen writing tirelessly in support of a national holiday to celebrate Thanksgiving. At last, in 1863, President Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving a national holiday – “a day for all Americans to give thanks, together.”

Although in a silly mood, and illustrated with raucous hilarity, this peppy nonfiction picture book pays tribute to a letter-writing heroine.

A “Feast of Facts” about the day and the title character, is appended with sources included.

Simon & Schuster, $18.99 (hardcover) $7.99 (paperback)

Interest Level: Grade 1-4

Giving Thanks 

By Jonathan London

Illustrated by Gregory Manchess

            “Every morning,” a young boy says, his father thanks “Mother Earth” and “Father Sky” like his ”Indian” friends. Like them, he believes that nature gives gifts and that in return, something must be given back – a thank you. Especially at this season of the year, many of us are also thinking thankfulness.

As the two hike through a gorgeous fall day together, the father thanks frogs, crickets, wild mushrooms, autumn trees shedding leaves, a fox, deer, quail, a jackrabbit and a hawk. The boy feels a bit embarrassed as his father thanks trees and things. But his dad tells him it will become a habit for him too.

The tone of the text is respectful and matter-of-fact. The brilliant oil paintings reflect earth colors and the illustrator uses a soft focus to highlight the creatures and the boy-father pair from varied perspectives across a walking panorama.

The story ends with the boy thanking the stars. And, in this beautifully illustrated picture book, the message is simple, infused with a spirituality that cherishes the gifts nature freely gives.

Candlewick Press $16.99 (hardcover) $6.99 (paperback)

Interest Level: Junior Kindergarten – Grade 3