Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Stories

 

This year, I felt like reading some classic stories about good old-fashioned Thanksgiving celebrations. Here is my “reading” list, with the first one to watch rather than read.

·       A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. This is not as well known as A Charlie Brown Christmas or It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, but it does highlight the real purpose of the holiday. It is available on DVD or for streaming from one or more services.

·       Over the River and Through the Wood is a poem by Lydia Maria Child about the trip by sleigh to Grandmother’s house for Thanksgiving. It has been published in picture-book form numerous times using different illustrators.

·       “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving” is a short story by Louisa May Alcott. When the parents leave to visit a dying Grandma, can the children handle Thanksgiving on their own? You’ll have to read the story to find the answer.

·       “Aunt Suzanna’s Thanksgiving Dinner” is a short story by Lucy Maud Montgomery. The main characters are already young women, but children will also enjoy this story of how they save Aunt Suzanna’s Thanksgiving dinner.

·       “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen” is a short story by O. Henry. Although there is nothing in the story that is inappropriate for children, it is typical O. Henry and works better for adults.

Happy reading.

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The illustration is “Homestead Winter” by Currier and Ives, circa 1868. It is in the public domain because of its age.