These 12 Children’s Story Books to Inspire Thankfulness are wonderful books to read to your children ages 0-6.

Besides eating ourselves silly on turkey, mashed potatoes and pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving, is also a time to reflect on all that we are thankful for in our lives.

Which also means it’s a great time to teach our children what thankfulness truly is.

Getting young children to go from simply saying ‘thank you’ (which in itself can sometimes be a challenge) for kind acts, gifts or goodwill gestures to fully understanding the deep complexities of what it means to truly be thankful for someone or something takes a bit of time to digest and put into action.

The 12 books below are my go-to books for this time of year to talk to my kids about being thankful.

Our favorite books are age-appropriate, easy to read, have wonderful illustrations and are heartfelt in their messaging.

I truly hope your family loves these books as much as my family does.

Thanksgiving Books

If you are looking for Thanksgiving themed books, I have a couple on the list below but to be honest, Thanksgiving books are usually heavy on the tradition of the Holiday and light on the acts of thankfulness. So scroll to the bottom of the post if you want to know what our favorite traditional Thanksgiving books are.

 

Board Books for Ages 0-2

Biscuit Is Thankful – The lovable dog Biscuit is thankful for so many things – his bed, his bone and his morning walks. This cute board book is short, sweet and a great way to teach thankfulness from an early age.

Llama Llama Gives Thanks – you really can’t go wrong with any of the Llama Llama series books. This Llama Llama Give Thanks book is a short book about giving thanks all year long. It has colorful illustrations and is great for little ones with shorter attention spans.

Bear Says “Thank You” – A sweet story about a little bear that needs help with a special project from his mom. The ending is super cute (cue mom tears). A great book to introduce to baby and toddler to start teaching them the simple act of saying thank you.


Thank you, Mr. Panda – a humorous take on gift giving, the thoughts behind gift giving and saying thank you for the presents you do receive. My kids think the ending was hilarious and in general they love the Mr. Panda series books.

 

Story Books for Ages 2-4

Bear Says Thanks – The Bears series books are so heartwarming and this one is no exception – we bring it out each thanksgiving and we read it at least once a day. Bear wants to make a big dinner but has no food in his pantry, so all of his animal friends come over with their bounty to share. A lovely book that teaches about community, helping others and giving thanks!

Thankful – a whimsical book about all of the things we should be thankful for year round. Magical illustrations! This book does have a few religious subtexts in it.

Thanksgiving Is For Giving Thanks – a sweet book that focuses on bringing families together and being thankful for the little things.

The Thankful Book – A bright, fun and silly book that gives thanks to all of the small things we should be grateful for. It’s told in an age-approachable way that will make kids gain a deeper understanding of what thankfulness really is. A must read for any age of kid!

 

Story Books for Ages 4-6

Thanks for Thanksgiving – A charming and relatable book for kids that talks about all the things they have to be grateful for – dancing, slides and family. The words have a great flow and the illustrations are warming and colorful. I just got this book this year and I can tell it will be coming out all year long.

The Thank You Book – This might be the sweetest and most heartfelt book I have read in awhile! Going beyond saying ‘thank you’ for manners, this warming tale explores all the ways to be thankful each day. A must-read!

Those Shoes – A must-have book for any family! A touching (I was totally crying the first time I read this) about a boy that wants the latest shoes and can’t afford them, in the end he is thankful for what he does have – new snow boots! A great way to teach both thankfulness and kindness in one book.

The Thank You Book (An Elephant and Piggie Book) – All kids love the Elephant and Piggie book series and this one might be my favorite. Piggie wants to thank everyone who is important to him, but by the end of the adventure he forgets to thank his best friend Gerald the Elephant. It’s a funny book about friendships and being thankful for everyone special in your life. Kids will really relate to this.

TRADITIONAL THANKSGIVING BOOKS WE ALSO LOVE:

Ages 0-2
I Love to Gobble You Up! (Made with Love)

Five Silly Turkeys

Where Is Baby’s Turkey?: A Karen Katz Lift-the-Flap Book

Bright Baby: Happy Thanksgiving

Ages 2-4

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving

Pinkalicious: Thanksgiving Helper

I Know an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Pie

Ages 4-6

Thanksgiving in the Woods

Thanksgiving on Thursday

Cranberry Thanksgiving

 


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