First published in 1982, Thanksgiving at the Tappletons' by Eileen Spinelli is being reissued with new art by Megan Lloyd. The illustrations present an all-animal cast (who bear a slight resemblance to Ashley Wolff's furry critters), with the Tappleton clan starring as wolves determined to make the most of it when their roast turkey goes missing. (HarperCollins, $14.99 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-06-008670-X; Sept.)
The team behind Christmas in the White House, which was set during Teddy Roosevelt's term, takes readers back to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue for the very first official Thanksgiving celebration, as proclaimed by Abraham Lincoln, in Thanksgiving in the White House by Gary Hines, illus. by Alexandra Wallner. Readers view events through the eyes of the president's beloved son Tad, a mischief-maker with good intentions. (Holt, $15.95 32p ages 4-8 ISBN 0-8050-6530-X; Sept.)
Richard Scarry's animal (and worm) characters play the parts of the Wampanoag and the Pilgrims in Richard Scarry's The First Thanksgiving of Low Leaf Worm, a paperback with gatefold flaps on every spread. Told from a Wampanoag point of view, the tale packs a hefty amount of historical information alongside detailed and cheerful watercolors. (S&S/Little Simon, $6.99 16p ages 3-6 ISBN 0-689-84846-3; Oct.)
The picture book P Is for Pilgrim: A Thanksgiving Alphabet by Carol Crane, illus. by Helle Urban, offers informative ABCs in quatrain form: A is for the Atlantic Ocean, traveled by those "praying to be free"; B stands for the Bill of Rights, inspired in part by the Mayflower Contract; C for the "cache of Corn" taken by Pilgrims "from the Indian field." The short history lessons that supplement each quatrain, however, suggest use in a classroom setting more than as a child's personal reading. (Sleeping Bear [734-475-4411], $14.95 40p ages 4-10 ISBN 1-58536-134-8; Oct.)
Emphasizing the faith of its fictionalized characters, Thanksgiving: A Harvest Celebration by Julie Stiegemeyer, illus. by Renné Benoit, describes the tribulations of the Pilgrims and their gratitude to God, and reminds readers to be thankful not just for God but more especially for the "gift of Jesus." (Concordia, $12.99 ages 4-up ISBN 0-7586-0530-7; Aug.)
