Reading List: Not the Thanksgiving that was planned

Whether it’s unexpected snow, an urgent call, burnt turkey, or you find out you are the main course for dinner (YIKES!), sometimes Thanksgiving isn’t what you expected it to be. In moments like these, books can provide a way for us to realize there is no such thing as a perfect Thanksgiving, and regular Thanksgiving traditions can change when life necessitates it. Whatever your Thanksgiving holds for you this year, remember, it could be worse. You could be the turkey, thinking you are the guest of honor and not understand the impact of that role. Happy Thanksgiving!

	Bad Kitty Does Not Like Thanksgiving By: Nick Bruel Kitty does not like Thanksgiving. Kitty LOVES Thanksgiving. Specifically, Kitty loves turkey and will do anything to get her paws on it. SO, Kitty comes up with a plan but in perfect cantankerous cat fashion, can’t quite pull it off and ends up with the turkey (and all the fixins’) on her head.
	Beauty and the Beaks: a turkey’s cautionary tale By: Mary Jane and Herm Auch When Lance, a very pretentious turkey, arrives on the farm and boasts that he is the only bird invited to a special feast, no hen is impressed, but when Beauty learns that Lance is the main course, she convinces the others to save him.
	Chester Chipmunk’s Thanksgiving By: Barbara Williams A classic Thanksgiving tale. Chester Chipmunk can’t seem to find anybody to share his Thanksgiving dinner. After five friends refuse his invitation to share a pecan pie on Thanksgiving, Chester Chipmunk discovers Oswald Opossum, literally hanging out in the cold.
	The Firefighters’ Thanksgiving By: Maribeth Boelts Calls to fires, an injured friend, and cooking disasters threaten to keep a group of firefighters from enjoying Thanksgiving dinner.
	The Great Thanksgiving Escape By: Mark Fearing It’s another Thanksgiving at Grandma’s. Gavin expects a long day of boredom and being pestered by distantly related toddlers, but his cousin Rhonda has a different idea: make a break for it – out of the kids’ room to the swing set in the backyard! Gavin isn’t so sure, especially when they encounter vicious guard dogs (in homemade sweaters), a hallway full of overly affectionate aunts, and worse yet, the great wall of butts! Will they manage to avoid the obstacles and find some fun before turkey time? Or will they be captured before they’ve had a taste of freedom?
	The Great Turkey Race By: Steve Metzger Illustrated by: Jim Paillot Cassie, Wing, and Ollie all want to be the Thanksgiving Turkey! They decide to have a contest to see which of them Farmer Joe should pick. Will it be a happy Thanksgiving for all?
	Last-but-not-least Lola and a knot the size of Texas By: Christine Pakkala Illustrated by: Paul Hoppe In her fourth hilarious adventure, good-hearted Lola can’t help getting into trouble. Her friends are all traveling for the Thanksgiving holidays, so she offers to dog-sit–but fails to mention this to Mom, who is desperately trying to finish a batch of Lola dresses for a new client. Now Lola is juggling her dog-sitting responsibilities with her worries. Will her parents discover the growing knot in her hair and cause her excruciating pain brushing it out? Will her grandmothers discover that she’s lied to them every year about who makes the best pumpkin pie? Will Jack get so involved in his new babysitting and yard-work jobs that, like Mom and Dad, he won’t have time for her anymore? Lola’s worries, like the knot in her hair, grow greater until she finally has to stop hiding them and start untangling them.
	A Plump and Perky Turkey By: Teresa Bateman Illustrated by: Jeff Shelly The townspeople of Squawk Valley try to trick a turkey into being their Thanksgiving dinner but are frustrated in their efforts when the turkey tricks them instead.
	Thelonius Turkey Lives! (on Felicia Ferguson’s farm) By: Lynn Rowe Reed With Thanksgiving Day approaching and no other turkeys left on the farm, Thelonius Turkey worries that he will become the centerpiece for the family’s dinner celebration.
	Turkey Bowl By: Phil Bildner Ethan looks forward to the Thanksgiving Day when he and his friends are finally old enough to play in the annual family football game, but that day arrives full of snow and icy roads.
	Turkey Monster Thanksgiving By: Anne Warren Smith When her perfectionist classmate and neighbor plans an elaborate Thanksgiving dinner, Katie begins to wonder if the relaxed day she, her father, and her messy little brother usually enjoy means they are not a “real” family.
	Turkey Trouble By: Wendi Silvano Illustrated by: Lee Harper As Thanksgiving Day approaches, Turkey nervously makes a series of costumes, disguising himself as other farm animals in hopes that he can avoid being served as Thanksgiving dinner.