Why am I passionate about this?
My idea for a book about Thanksgiving was born in the aftermath of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. I was in downtown Manhattan that awful morning on my way to my office at the Wall Street Journal, directly across from the World Trade Center. I stood on the street and watched the towers fall. Two months later, as Thanksgiving approached, I found myself reading William Bradford’s first-person account of the First Thanksgiving. I wanted to learn more about this little kernel of history and how it grew into a cherished national holiday. I wrote several articles for the Journal about the holiday. Writing a book was the logical next step.
Melanie's book list on making your Thanksgiving more meaningful
Why did Melanie love this book?
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.
2 authors picked Thanksgiving in the Woods as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 4, 5, 6, and 7.
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 bonfires and long tables adorned with candles and food, singing songs and sharing laughter.
Thanksgiving in the Woods is based on the true story of a family in Upstate New York who has hosted an outdoor Thanksgiving feast in the woods on their farm for over twenty years.
- Coming soon!