Thank You, Sarah

Children may think that Americans have celebrated Thanksgiving since the very first Thanksgiving the Pilgrims celebrated with Squanto and his friends.

While in one sense this is true, Thanksgiving wasn’t established as a national holiday until much later in history.

Thank You, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson explains the history of Thanksgiving as a holiday, focusing specifically on Sarah Hale’s decades-long campaign to create a national holiday for Thanksgiving.

It’s an interesting tale, made even better by lively, detailed and sometimes hilarious illustrations from Matt Faulkner. I especially love the 2-page spread of the horror of Thanksgiving Day being cancelled: a man looks in horror at the TV, which declares “no football today!” as football players, native Americans and Grandma sadly look on, while a turkey struts triumphantly in the foreground.

Anderson includes extensive notes at the end of the book, with loads of interesting facts about Thanksgiving and Sarah Hale.
Recommended for ages 3 – 9.