It’s down the valley and over the grapevine, to my sister’s house we go! Thanksgiving has always been my favorite holiday. Time to gather with family, prepare and eat a wonderful meal and reflect on the goodness of life.
It seems contradictory that this Thanksgiving so many stores are open. On a day set aside to be grateful people are out shopping for more stuff. My son couldn’t be with us today – he works in a big box store that is open all day.
There are many good Thanksgiving books but I found one that is perfect for today.
Thank you, Sarah by Laurie Halse Anderson and illustrated by Matt Faulkner Simon and Schuster Books 2002
Thanksgiving wasn’t always celebrated in the U.S. It took the hard work and perseverance of a strong willed woman named Sarah Hale to make sure that Thanksgiving Day wasn’t ignored and forgotten. Not only was Sarah a mother of five, but she was an author, first female magazine editor in America, publisher of authors like Longfellow and Edgar Allen Poe, and wrote “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” She fought against slavery and for educational rights for girls. How did she do all of these things? With her secret weapon – a pen. Sarah believed that Thanksgiving was an important holiday and should be made a national holiday. She wrote thousands of letters to politicians and encouraged others to write also. She petitioned presidents Taylor, Fillmore, Pierce, and Buchanan to no avail. But, she didn’t give up. Finally, Lincoln received and read a letter and agreed that the U.S. needed Thanksgiving. He made it a national holiday in 1863. Thank you, Sarah is a witty and clever biography of a special woman and an important holiday that we shouldn’t take for granted.
I hope you are all counting your blessings surrounded by friends and family.
Thank you.
I did not know this book.
Great story!