The current Collection Spotlight highlights books about Thanksgiving and themes referencing gratitude. Please click on the title or book cover to take you to the record in the UBC Library catalogue. Our Seasons and Celebrations booklist can be accessed for a list of selected teacher resources, picture books, and non-fiction related to different community celebrations throughout the year.
If you’re thankful and you know it / Chrissy Bozik; illustrated by Patricia Storms.
This Thanksgiving celebration is versioned on “If you’re happy and you know it.” Here, families, neighbours and friends gather to give thanks for everything the season has to offer: from changing leaves to turkey and pies; from a hockey game to a cozy sweater. And most of all, for the warm memories of time spent together with loved ones. A perfect reminder any time of the year of the things that are important, and to stop and be grateful.
Step forward with gratitude / Shannon Welbourn.
This helpful book provides ideas, practical tips, and inspiring stories about how you can make expressing gratitude a regular habit. Discover how showing your appreciation and returning kindness to others is a rewarding experience that will enrich your life
There, there / written by Tim Beiser; illustrated by Bill Slavin.
It’s raining, and Rabbit whines, he complains, he moans, he grumps … until Bear has had enough! He decides it’s time for Rabbit to learn to appreciate what he has. Using nothing but the lowly common earthworm as an example, he teaches Rabbit a lesson about taking things for granted.
Lighting our world: a year of celebrations / written by Catherine Rondina; illustrated by Jacqui Oakley.
Throughout the year and around the globe, people use light — candles, bonfires, lanterns and fireworks — to celebrate special occasions. This richly illustrated book is an illuminating tour of the world’s brightest and warmest festivities.
Willa and the bear / by Philomena O’Neill.
A touching tale about a girl, her lost doll, and a bear who brings them back together.
The Thank You Book / by Mo Willems
In The Thank You Book, Piggie wants to thank EVERYONE. But Gerald is worried Piggie will forget someone . . . someone important.
Hello, harvest moon / by Ralph Fletcher; illustrated by Kate Kiesler.
Poetic prose describes a full autumn moon and the magical effect it has on the earth, plants, animals, and people around it.
The autumn equinox: celebrating the harvest / Ellen Jackson; illustrated by Jan Davey Ellis.
Discusses the significance of some of the harvest festivals around the world and describes how they are celebrated.
We are all dots: a big plan for a better world / Giancarlo Macri, Carolina Zanotti.
When a set of prosperous dots on one page and another set of impoverished dots on the other meet, readers are taken through their struggle to bridge their differences.
The wish tree / words by Kyo Maclear; pictures by Chris Turnham.
In winter Charles and his trusty toboggan set out to find the wish tree, and along the way, he helps to make the wishes of his friends Squirrel, Fox, and Beaver come true.
Harvest days: celebrating fall with rhymes, songs, projects, games, and snacks /written and compiled by Durby Peterson; illustrated by Marion Hopping Ekberg.
Grateful / story by Marion Mutala; illustrations by E.R.
A little girl and her mother share a conversation over many years, as the child complains about the injustices of her young life, and the mother reminds her not to lament what she doesn’t have, but to cherish what she does.
The secret of saying thanks / Douglas Wood; illustrated by Greg Shed
While learning the secret to a good life, a child says thank you for the natural world and for being loved, because a grateful heart is always happy.