Five things Friday roundup: Giving thanks

Here we are between Canadian Thanksgiving and United States’ Thanksgiving. Sometimes it can be hard to feel thankful. Wars abound; children go to bed hungry. In fear, politics become more and more divisive, and the world is far from the Peaceable Kingdom envisioned in Isaiah 11:1–9. For those of us in the U.S., we also wrestle with the “First Thanksgiving” narrative, colonization and the complicated realities of the holiday’s history.

How can we focus on gratitude and our blessings amid the turmoil of our world, communities and families? Yet 1 Thessalonians 5:18 calls us to “give thanks in all things.”

In thinking about Anabaptist World’s November books issue (which was mails today), I turn to books that soothe my bruised heart and invite me to give thanks. These books may all be marketed for children, but as I tell my children’s literature students: A well-written book is a good book for any age!

Check out one of these books for all ages to celebrate the season and invite us into the spiritual practice of giving thanks.

1. God is Giving, by Amy Parker, illustrated by Chris Saunders

This is a board book that makes sharing the story fun for even our littlest friends. A simple story names small gifts from God, such as “the promise of a dirt-covered seed” to God as “a sky full of sparkling stars and the promise that morning comes soon.” Most of all, I am so thankful that God “gives us our loved ones, family and friends.”

2. The Fantastic Gifts of Fall, by Dandi Daley Mackall, illustrations by Katherine Blackmore

This book names traditional North American fall weather (“frisky, brisky, sometimes gray”) and sights (“Leaves change colors. Bye-bye green! Reds and yellows on the scene”). Every page ends in the repeated line, “Thank you God, for autumn.” This book includes a parent connection section which has scriptures, thinking/discussion questions and an activity to do together as family. May all our observations in the changing season, and special activities of this season, give us reason to thank God.

3. The Memory Cupboard: A Thanksgiving Story, by Charlotte Herman, paintings by Ben F. Stahl

This is my daughter’s favorite Thanksgiving book. When Katie accidentally breaks her grandmother’s special gravy boat at Thanksgiving dinner, her grandmother teaches Katie that love is more important than objects. The book is a celebration of family, love, memories and what is truly important.

4. Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf, illustrated by Jenny Lovlie

Based on a real family in upstate New York that has hosted an outdoor Thanksgiving feast in the woods on their farm for more than 20 years, this beautiful book celebrates the anticipation, working together and joy of gathering with neighbors, relatives and people unknown at Thanksgiving time. The book ends with the Shaker hymn “Simple Gifts” as a way of summarizing the entire experience.

5. God Gave Us Thankful Hearts, by Lisa Tawn Bergren, illustrated by David Hohn

I absolutely LOVE Bergren’s picture books. This one features a wolf family exploring the natural world and the gifts they encounter for which they can thank God. Things such as the way “God paints our forest every autumn” are discussed, and Mama shares the “trick” of having a thankful heart, which is “thinking about the things that make us happy, rather than the things that don’t.” Family, time together and special fall activities all become opportunities to be thankful. Even when we get lost in a corn maze, “We can be thankful for how God shows us the way, even when it seems a little scary.” These lessons are important for all of us, no matter how old we are.