November is National Gratitude Month, and I am thankful for the reminder to focus on this important practice. Gratitude is for people of all ages and can enhance our mood, decrease stress, and improve our overall health and well-being. Especially in difficult times, it can be hard to remember what there is to be grateful for, but, like many things, the more we practice gratitude, the easier it is. With Thanksgiving just around the corner, it’s a great time to help children get started on making gratitude a regular part of their lives, and these books can help.
Around the Table That Grandad Built, opens a new window by Melanie Heuiser Hill, illustrated by Jaime Kim
As a family gathers to share a big meal, they bring out a special table built by their Grandad, then add meaningful items, one-by-one. Children add sunflowers that their cousins picked. Napkins sewn by Mom are added next, then silverware from Great-Grandma and glasses from one couple’s wedding. Some guests bring dishes with vegetables from their garden, and others bring dishes that have become annual traditions. As they all gather together to eat, they give thanks for the table that Grandad built.
The Blue Table, opens a new window by Chris Raschka
With each page, we get a bird’s-eye view of the simple but important life of a small table and how its purpose changes. The square blue table starts out holding the breakfast of parents and a child before being cleaned off when they leave for the day. Next, it holds food from the garden and the store. Apples, flour, a knife, and measuring spoons become an apple pie. Then, dramatically, the table splits in half, pulls apart, and becomes longer! Onto this big blue table (now covered with a tablecloth) are added several place settings, candles, and heaping bowls of food. Those sitting at the table join hands, then share the meal before the blue table is cleaned off and put back to its original size. The words in this book are spare, with the story mostly conveyed through the bold and slightly abstract illustrations that will engage young children and provide many conversation starters about what is happening on each page.
Counting Our Blessings, opens a new window by Emma Dodd
In this one to ten counting book, a grown-up dog helps a puppy remember their blessings. A sincere and heart-warming list that is applicable to pups and humans alike starts with number one, a happy family, and includes playing and good food to eat, as well as deeper appreciations, such as “a heart full of love” and “the joy of being alive.” The simple illustrations of the sweet pups snuggling and romping together are sure to inspire cuddles between a grown-up and the child they are reading this book to.
Thank You, opens a new window by Jarvis
A little boy reflects on all that he is thankful for. He starts out earnestly with thank-yous to the Moon and Sun for night and day, then progressively gets sillier and sillier. He gives thanks to his hat for holding in his thoughts, to Tyrannosaurus for being the longest word he knows, and to his toothbrush for his smile. The rhyming rhythm of this book gives it an upbeat, frolicking feel, wrapping up with the boy thanking himself for just “being me.”
Thankful, opens a new window by Elaine Vickers, illustrated by Samantha Cotterill
When the first snow falls, a little girl’s family begins creating their annual tradition: a thankful chain. On each paper link of the chain is something to be thankful for on each day of December. It seems like a hard task to think of 31 things to be thankful for, but when the girl starts looking around her she sees many things: a warm home, loving parents, the night, the Moon, the stars, a heart that beats, kind friends, bicycles, color, pencils, and paper. The little girl’s list of things she is thankful for goes on and on, so that, when she hangs it around her bedroom window, the ends hang to the floor. This gentle story of gratitude is a reminder that there are simple things all around us to be thankful for.
Darcie Caswell is the Youth Services Coordinator at CRRL. This column originally appeared in The Free Lance-Star newspaper.
