Kids’ books for Thanksgiving by various authors

c.2025, various publishers, $17.95 - $19.99, various page counts

Thank you.

Two words that you’ve known how to say almost since you were able to talk. Two words you hear a lot and say even more. So, what are you thankful for this year? Check out these new books and start making your list…

Who will be around your Thanksgiving table this year? Mom and dad, brothers and sisters, grandparents and, in most families, you can count a few friends – just like in “Happy Friendsgiving: A Thanksgiving Celebration of Found Families” by Marcie Colleen and Laura Sandoval Herrera (Doubleday, $18.99). Gathering together, that’s what friends do. They cook and eat and share and clean up, and then share some more. Kids ages 4-to-7 will enjoy having someone read this book to them, just before they sit down to eat.

And what will be on the table on Thanksgiving day? In “Family Feast!” by Carole Boston Weatherford, illustrated by Frank Morrison (Crown, $18.99), the fare is more than fair: Big Ma and Pops have been up since dawn making the meal. Cousins arrive, adults bring their favorite dishes, and you can imagine how good it all smells. But what’s the very best thing at the Thanksgiving table every year?  Your 4-to-7-year-old will love finding out with this adorable, family-oriented book.

No doubt, you’ve heard a lot of people complaining about a lot of things. But “America Gives Thanks” by Thai My Phoung (Penguin Workshop, $19.99), your eyes will become open to something that may make you think.

Everybody’s excited about a class trip to Washington, D.C., but many of the kids on the bus are complaining about this and that. America, the narrator of this story, can’t understand why that’s so. Her classmates can sing at the Lincoln Memorial; Marian Anderson had to fight to do that. Ruth Bader Ginsburg worked hard for people’s rights. Franklin Roosevelt tried to make sure that everyone had enough resources to live. Sen. Claiborne Pell ensured that generations of young people could go to college. Complaining isn’t always good, but it’s not a bad thing, either, if we all do it together. This is a great book for kids ages 7-to-11, and a good reminder for adults, too.

And finally, it’s fall, y’all, and that might mean a colorful skyline with yellow, orange and brown leaves. In “Leaf Town Forever” by Kathleen Rooney and Beth Rooney, illustrated by Betsy Bowen (University of Minnesota Press, $17.95), three friends take fallen leaves and do something creative with them. Sadly, the leaves don’t stick around. Instead, they do something wonderful, something that’s great for the animals and the land, something that 3-to-6-year-olds will find magical.

If these books aren’t enough for the youngest Thanksgiving lover in your house, then head to your favorite bookstore or library and ask for more. They’ll have the right books for small readers, teen readers, and the adult who needs a reminder that the first part in “Thanksgiving” is the most important one. Your librarian or bookseller will know what you want. And thank you!