Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #7

No two holiday celebrations are ever alike.  Despite all our planning, sometimes life has a way of taking control. Weather, health and just plain goofy happenings can change everything within hours, minutes or seconds.  

This year two entirely different books, with older release dates, were used as expressions of gratitude when reading aloud with students.  The six previous posts, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #2, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #3, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #4, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #5, and Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #6, have served to ask us not only what this holiday means to us, but the value of each and every day.

It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish folk tale (Farrar Straus Giroux, 1976) retold and with pictures by Margot Zemach (a Caldecott Medalist for Duffy and the Devil: a Cornish tale and a Caldecott Honor winner for The Judge:  An Untrue Tale and for this title) examines the life of a man believing he has reached his limits.  To clarify, he lived in one room with his mother, wife and their six children.  The crowded conditions were very hard on everyone.  Quarreling and crying were daily occurrences.  It was even worse in the winter.

One day he sought the advice of the Rabbi.  The man was desperate for a solution, agreeing to do whatever the Rabbi suggested to lessen the noise.  The first thing the Rabbi did was to ask the man if he had any animals, any fowl. The man's reply prompted the Rabbi to tell him to bring the chickens, rooster and goose into his home.

As you can imagine now on top of the quarreling and crying there was honking, crowing and clucking.  Unable to bear the commotion any longer, the man visited the Rabbi again.  The wise man's next question, the man's reply and the Rabbi's recommendation were puzzling to the man but he did it.

The ruckus was much worse.  On his third visit to the Rabbi, the man was dumbfounded with his guidance but he reluctantly did it.  Now the poor man had crying, quarreling, honking, clucking, crowing, wild butting and massive trampling. Nearly out of his mind, he went to the Rabbi for his fourth visit.  Thrilled with the Rabbi's wonderful words, he ran home and did exactly as the Rabbi encouraged him to do.  Did the man go back to the Rabbi again?  He did.  The gift of family is a rare gift indeed.

In her retelling of this tale Margot Zemach creates a storytelling cadence with the repetition of key phrases as each episode is recounted.  She heightens the tension by altering the words to describe the man's reaction to the Rabbi's advice.  Each time he is more perplexed by the conversations he has with the Rabbi.  He actually wonders if the Rabbi is crazy.  This also contributes to the comedy in this story.  Here is a passage.

"Holy Rabbi," he cried, "see what a misfortune has befallen me.  Now with the crying and quarreling, with the honking, clucking, and crowing, there are feathers in the soup.  Rabbi, it couldn't be worse.  Help me, please."

The Rabbi listened and thought.  At last he said, "Tell me, do you happen to have a goat?"

"Oh, yes, I do have an old goat, but he's not worth much."

"Excellent," said the Rabbi.  "Now go home and take the old goat into your hut to live with you."

"Ah, no!  Do you really mean it, Rabbi?" cried the man.

"Come, come now, my good man, and do as I say at once,"  said the Rabbi.

Unfolding the dust jacket reveals a background which continues from the left (back) edge to the right (front) edge. In the scene on the back the poor unfortunate man is stepping outside his hut into a snowy evening.  A crescent moon is hanging in the sky.  Smoke is coming from his chimney and the small home near his hut.  On the front we can easily see the chaos from having nine people living in a single room.  The one older child sleeping seems like a miracle.  The book case is blue cloth.  The opening and closing endpapers are a shade of deep rose.

In the single-page picture opposite the title page, the man and his wife are walking down the village's road across a bridge as his mother and six children create a rumpus ahead and behind them.  Margot Zemach alternates between single-page pictures, images crossing the gutter and two-page illustrations.  Most of the single-page pictures are interior views of the home.  The larger pictures give readers a glimpse of life in this small community as well as the visits to the Rabbi.  Sometimes Margot Zemach blends the visits to the Rabbi with views of the wildness inside the man's home.

With her illustrations Margot Zemach elevates the narrative beautifully.  One of my many favorite illustrations is when the man has returned home after a visit to the Rabbi.  It spans two pages.  On the right another man is riding in a cart drawn by a single horse and crossing a small bridge to the poor unfortunate man's yard on the left.  Behind the man in the cart is a large home with turrets.  In the yard the poor unfortunate man is untying his goat.  Three of the younger children are playing outside in the yard.  Another child is running behind the hut.  The man's wife is standing outside the hut's door.  By her posture, the man has just informed her the goat is coming inside to live.  The sun is shining in a winter sky.

'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving (Orchard Books, September 1, 1990) with story and pictures by Dav Pilkey is a rewording of the famous Clement C. Moore Christmas poem.  It begins with a field trip on the day before Thanksgiving.  A fall breeze blows leaves around eight students boarding a school bus. 

The children sing as the bus bumps along down the road.  They do have visions in their minds...of drumsticks.  As their teacher drives the bus down the winding route, a chorus of noise has them lowering their windows.

They have arrived at Farmer Mack Nuggett's turkey farm.  Eight tiny turkeys can hardly wait for the man dressed in denim to open the gate.  He calls them by name.  It's love at first sight between the fowl and the children.  They play together with total bliss until one of the little girl's notices an ax by the door.

When the children hear what is going to happen to the turkeys that night, there is no consoling them.  As the sun disappears beneath the horizon and stars fill the sky, the teacher and Farmer Mack Nuggett run to the well to get the children a sip of water to soothe them.  The two adults return to find the children much calmer and fatter.  They struggle to board the bus but it soon takes off into the night.  The next day, Thanksgiving feasts in eight homes have an additional member in their family sitting at the table.  The meal in each is a delectable vegetarian delight.

Dav Pilkey has a gift for selecting the right words to convey the exact mood in the exact moment.  His verses are brimming with humor.  None of the rhymes are forced but flow easily.  The name of the farmer makes reference to a fast food chain.  The names of the turkeys, Ollie, Stanley, Larry, Moe, Wally, Beaver, Shemp and Groucho give a nod to famous comedians and the television show Leave It To Beaver featuring "Beaver" and Wally Cleaver which ran from 1957 to 1963.  Here are two verses.

The turkeys were chunky

With smiley, beaked faces,

And they greeted the children

With downy embraces.

So out through the barnyard

They ran and they flew,

And they gobbled and giggled

As friends sometimes do.

The swirling blue on blue background shown on the front of the matching dust jacket and book case is used to the left on the back.  The scene of the children running and laughing with the turkeys continues past the spine to the far left of the back.  This image is one of sheer happiness.  Bright yellow colors the opening and closing endpapers.  It's the same hue found on the turkeys' beaks.  On the title page beneath the text a turkey runs across the page with whorls of pale blue marking his path.

Autumn leaves tumble across the verso and dedication pages.  Under the dedication 

For Cyndi and Nate

Dav Pilkey has this quote:

". . .And what is done with love is well done."

---Vincent Van Gogh

Full color two-page pictures supply liveliness to the narrative lifting the level of emotional impact.  When the little girl inquires about the ax, Dav has the teacher and Farmer Mack Nuggett standing to the left in a pose reminiscent of the American Gothic by Grant Wood.  As night begins to descend and the children put their plan into place, readers come to understand why Dav includes the Vincent Van Gogh quote.  

His sky starts to have more texture as the stars appear.  As the children are climbing the steps on the bus, the sky looks like Van Gogh's Starry Night with a huge crescent moon rising and lighting the ride home.  In the subsequent pictures the sky is filled with large, dotted pale blue swirls on darker blue.  On Thanksgiving evening the crescent moon is accompanied by large yellow stars.  Love is in the air.

One of my many favorite pictures is similar to the one on the dust jacket and book case.  The children from all different ethnic backgrounds and wearing all types of bright-colored clothing are leaping and running across the barnyard from left to right.  Their arms are lifted in joy and their faces are filled with laughter.  Two of the turkeys are flying above them and the others are keeping pace with the girls and boys on the ground.  Fall leaves are blowing among them.

It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish folk tale written and illustrated by Margot Zemach and 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving story and pictures by Dav Pilkey are two classic tales enjoyed by students.  Both exhibit gratitude for what we have and for kindness extended by others.  (Eight turkeys are completely relieved as are their young friends.)  I can't imagine a celebration of giving thanks without these books.

At the publisher's website for It Could Always Be Worse: A Yiddish folk tale you can view several interior images. To learn more about Dav Pilkey and his other work, please follow the link attached to his name to access his website.  I think you'll enjoy this interview of Dav at Scholastic BookClubs Kids.    

Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #5

For the Thanksgiving post this year, I decided to enlarge my tradition by including books newly published in 2015.  My previous four posts focused on books published as long ago as 1994 and as recently as 2013.  Those four posts, Thanksgiving Treasures--Tradition, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #2, Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #3, and Thanksgiving Treasures-Tradition #4, feature artists interpretations of people gathering at meals, a Shaker hymn depicted by a Caldecott award winning talent, a mother and daughter question and answer conversation about the most thankful thing, an overabundance of guests in a too-small room, a poem turned song celebrated by a notable artist, a Newbery award winning author addressing her ideas on joy, gratitude and prayer, a wish by a beloved relative and a collection of Native American poems.

The bitter cold temperatures, despite the clear blue sky and sunshine, coupled with the recent snowfall are the superb excuse for remaining inside cozy and content, chatting with family and friends, watching an old favorite movie, or reading a new book.  This national holiday, Thanksgiving Day, is a time to give our attention to those we value most.  It's a reminder of those good things, small and large, which fill our days all year.


Author Eileen Spinelli has paired with first time children's book illustrator Archie Preston to give readers Thankful (ZonderKidz, September 1, 2015).  It's a joyful expression of life's everyday moments.  Playfully presented by children we come to understand the value of an attitude of gratitude.

The waitress is thankful for comfortable shoes.
The local reporter, for interesting news.

A sister and brother are donning clothing either from a dress-up filled armoire or their parent's closet.  Admiration of footwear and a dozing cat create headlines for a grateful reporter.  Seeds poking through dirt in rows, a handy hose, words and the cadence of language and a book make for a happy gardener, fireman, poet and the two siblings.

A painter, a clown, and a doctor appreciate those things most necessary for their success.  After a day of journeying from one point to another, a hotel is a welcome destination.  A dancer and a drummer have more in common than you might imagine.

A preparer of meals, a maker of clothes, a royal ruler and a honey helper salute simple but sometimes necessary pleasures.  Votes, boats, birds and words are showcased by those who cherish them the most. Glitter and glue lead me straight to you.


We follow those hard-working people in service to others, those creative people who express themselves through the arts, those who provide life's necessities, those who govern and rule and those who follow their hearts through hobbies.  Eileen Spinelli places a rhyming word at the end of phrases one and two and starts all over again with the next thoughts.  She lifts us up with her observations.  Here is another sample.

The artist is thankful
for color and light.
The clown, for her costume
silly and bright.


The childlike wonder displayed on the matching dust jacket and book case as a boy and a girl enjoy an autumn day is an introduction to the same positive outlook seen in every illustration throughout this title.  On the back, to the left, an interior image is supplied within a loose circle on the same glowing pale yellow background.  The rich golden orange from the title font on the front is found on the opening and closing endpapers.  A page turn gives us the dedication page with a yawning cat, a personality seen in many of the illustrations. The verso and title pages begin the story of the siblings.

Their portrayal of each of the named twenty people is a splendid interpretation by Archie Preston. His visuals extend the text with charm and humor.  Many elements found in one set of pictures appear later to complete his part in the storytelling.

Loose lines, pastel hues, shading and light and use of white space help his single page, page and one-half and double-page pictures to envelope the reader in sheer delight.  One of my favorite picture sequences is for the words featured above.  The brother, wearing an artist's beret, is painting his sister posed in her ballerina costume on the arm of the sofa in the living room.  Watercolor paints are scattered on the rug and in a box.  A large container of water nearby holds a brush.  He is also holding a brush and artist's palette.  This is a single page, edge to edge, illustration.  On the following page on a background of white, the sister is looking at the finished painting.  He is looking at her with pride.  The painting is what you would expect of someone his age.  It is adorable.



Stepping back in time Sharing The Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story (Schwartz & Wade Books, September 22, 2015) written by Pat Zietlow Miller with illustrations by Jill McElmurry gives readers a look at a family preparing a holiday meal.  Like integral parts on a well-balanced machine fused together with love, they work together.  We begin with Mama.

Mama, fetch the cooking pot.
Fetch our turkey-cooking pot.
Big and old and black and squat.
Mama, fetch the pot.

The pot can't do its job without a fire that's hot.  Papa brings in the wood for the stove.  Dough rises for the bread, gets punched and rises once more for loaves formed by Sister.

The eldest brother works on the cooking turkey making sure it stays moist.  Grandpa and Grandpa lend a hand with traditional treats and sweets. Mashing potatoes and pouring the cider are tasks well-suited to Auntie and Uncle.  Let's not leave out the baby who needs to stay sleeping until the feast is ready to be served.

Place mats are cut and pasted and set on the table.  Once done the younger brother gives a holler to one and all.  It's time to gather, sit and count the blessings.  It's time to reap the rewards of everyone's efforts.  It's time to share the bread.


Whether read silently or aloud the words penned by Pat Zietlow Miller roll sweetly from the printed page into your mind.  Four rhyming lines describe each activity with cheerful satisfaction.  Miller alternates her technique; three like words to one different and two like words to two different.  At the end of three tasks she binds them with another two line rhyme.  Here is another passage.

Mash. Top. Pour. (And rest.)
Food and loved ones. We are blessed.


Unfolding the dust jacket and opening the matching book case, you will feel a slow smile spread over your face as your eyes move from left to right.  The family members numbering nine (the baby is resting) stand in a row holding portions of the Thanksgiving feast ready to bring it to the table.  Rosy, ruddy cheeks and quiet smiles say more than words in this peaceful portrait of a shared accomplishment.  The colors used in the framing for the title cover the opening and closing endpapers.  Rustic red for the first and steel blue for the second; perhaps suggestive of the passage of time, a day spent in working as one.  On the title page three items of food sit upon a mirror image of the title text from the front.  The family dog is looking longingly at all of them.

Rendered in gouache on watercolor paper Jill McElmurry through painstaking research recreates vivid scenes of rooms, clothing and household items from the nineteenth century.  There is an underlying glow in all her images filling single pages, double pages or groups of three smaller illustrations.  Some extend edge to edge.  Others are loosely framed in white.

Readers will stop to seek out the inviting details within each picture; the dog and cat sharing a water dish, resting together or waiting for a bite of food, the shared looks of affection between the mother and father, the flour in the hair of the younger brother helping to make the bread, the grandfather holding the littlest brother so he can stir the berries, and the carved candle holders and high chair for the baby.  Each visual is filled with warmth and affection.  Perspectives shift to further make us feel like participants in this celebration.

One of my favorite illustrations is in the kitchen.  Several members are gathered around the stove as the turkey is being basted.  The dog's tail is thumping in pleasure; eyes closed as the odor is sniffed.  Grandmother and Mama hold pies.  The cat is resting on a top shelf.  Papa is washing dishes but manages to make eye contact with Mama.  Kitchen implements line the walls and shelves.  Soft swirls indicate the smells of home-baked bread, cooking berries, and a turkey nearly ready to eat.


It's a pleasure to recommend both of these titles, Thankful written by Eileen Spinelli with illustrations by Archie Preston and Sharing The Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story written by Pat Zietlow Miller with illustrations by Jill McElmurry, for this holiday season or any time we need to remember to be grateful.  Both are most memorable in text and illustrations and inspiring in their stories.  They are meant to be shared.

To learn more about Eileen Spinelli, Pat Zietlow Miller or Jill McElmurry and their other work please follow the links attached to their names to access their websites. Here is a link to the publisher's website for Sharing The Bread: An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving Story where additional pictures can be viewed.  A Read Aloud & Food Drive Activity Kit has been created for this title.  Pat Zietlow Miller is interviewed at Publishers Weekly.  Jill McElmurry is interviewed at Picture Book Builders.  During PiBoIdMo Pat Zietlow Miller was a guest poster on author Tara Lazar's blog, Writing for Kids (While Raising Them).  This title is highlighted at Jama Rattigan's wonderful blog, Jama's Alphabet Soup.