Thanksgiving Stories

Molly's Pilgrim, Barbara Cohen
Here's a short, simple, almost-a-picture book story that introduces us to Molly, a Russian Jewish girl whose family recently moved from New York after escaping religious persecution. In New York, at least, Molly knew other Jewish girls and other immigrants. In their new home, Winter Hill, the girls at school—the popular ones led by the conceited Elizabeth—make fun of her unfashionable clothing and her bad English, and Molly is also self-conscious of what her strict but fashionable teacher would think of her, or even worse, of her mother, who wears clothing from "the old country." Things come to a head when the children are asked to dress a clothespin as a Pilgrim for Thanksgiving. Fresh in her knowledge of the story, Molly is fearful when her mother says she will dress the clothespin—and her worst fears come true.

What is a Pilgrim? As Molly's mother so eloquently proves, it is not just a starched black-and-white separatist made from a clothespin used as a decoration, a gentle lesson that should not be soon forgotten. Get the edition with the Daniel Duffy illustrations; the newer editions have more abstract illustrations that look as if the story takes place in the 1960s. The Duffy illustrations are detailed pen-and-ink pieces that capture the 1920s setting, children's clothing, Molly's mother's dress, etc. wonderfully.

A Pioneer Thanksgiving, Barbara Greenwood, illustrated by Heather Collins

In 1998, Greenwood and Collins published A Pioneer Sampler (known as A Pioneer Story in Canada) about a Scots-Irish family, the Robertsons, making a living in the wilderness in 1840, along with their German-heritage neighbors the Burkhalters. They build a home, start to farm, befriend and trade with their Ojibwa neighbors, have small family crises, and eventually settle in. The books are unique in that they are a Little House-like children's narrative, mostly told from the point of view of the middle children Sarah and Willie, interspersed with nonfiction pullouts about Native peoples, methods of farming and home building, plants, etc. and also projects for children (cooking, games, making simple tools) all illustrated beautifully by Collins.

 

In this, one of two sequels, the Robertsons and Burkhalters have finished their harvest and are preparing for a "harvest home" celebration, known by the new name of "Thanksgiving." As the story opens, Sarah is worried about Granny, who is not feeling well and spending much time in bed. She decides to pick some cranberries for Granny as a treat, but it means she will have to navigate the treacherous bog, with 5-year-old Lizzie in tow. There are similar adventures before the families can sit down to feast. Projects include learning how to play "conkers," making bread and cranberry sauce, and crafting a nutting basket, and the pullouts include pieces on cranberries, Native thankfulness ceremonies, the importance of nutting, etc. Charming and homey (and will make you thankful you don't have to prepare food like our ancestors did!). Even better, although Greenwood wrote this as taking place in Canada, it could actually take place in either that country or the United States, as both have a holiday called "Thanksgiving."