My sister teaches music in an elementary school. Half of one of her early elementary classes is made up of first generation Americans. In explaining the words of "My Country 'Tis of Thee", my sister told those children that they were today's pilgrims.
As we prepare for Thanksgiving, let's remember those who come here to find sanctuary from persecution, poverty, and discrimination. We all came from somewhere else, no matter what some people want to believe.
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| Right now, this is my favorite Thanksgiving book. Puppets, balloons and pageants - the birth of an American tradition. |
Some of my favorite Thanksgiving books, new and old.
Molly's Pilgrim by Barbara Cohen. This classic was turned into an Academy Award-winning short film. Third grader, Molly, asks her mother to make a Pilgrim doll from a clothespin. Her mother, who was born in Eastern Europe, doesn't know what a Pilgrim is. Molly explains that a pilgrim is someone who came to this country to worship freely, and to escape hard times. Her mama makes a doll that looks like a Russian girl. Molly's doll helps the teacher explain that America still welcomes pilgrims for all kinds of reasons.
A Strawbeater's Thanksgiving by Irene Smalls. Jess, a slave, looks forward to the corn shucking party. He hopes to be the special boy chosen to keep time for the fiddler by beating on the fiddle strings with a pair of strong wheat straws. Hopes don't always come true and Jess works hard to make his hope become a reality. Melodye Rosales provides beautiful illustrations for this story.
A Turkey For Thanksgiving by Eve Bunting. Mr. Moose is determined to deliver a turkey to his wife for Thanksgiving. Turkey is equally determined to stay away. No worries, happy endings abound, all around. And Diane de Groat's pictures are colorful and adorable.
Balloons over Broadway by Melissa Sweet. Tony Sarg, a German-born puppeteer, was the artistic genius behind the first Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. He designed it to mirror the parades and processions of many of Macy's immigrant employees. This picture book biography, written and illustrated by Melissa Sweet, is my FAVORITE Thanksgiving book right now.
Thanksgiving Poems by Myra Cohn Livingston. If you are looking for something short to read before you stuff yourselves, take a look at this collection.
Over the River and Through the Wood by Lydia Maria Francis Child, with illustrations by David Catrow. You MUST get the version with pictures by David Catrow. The poem is lovely but the pictures are hilarious!
There are more, so many more. I might add to this list in the next week or two. Just remember to be kind to everyone you meet. Stand up for people who need defending. Give thanks for what you have.
Just announced at San Diego Comic-Con: Finn and Jake will be featured on an Adventure Time float at this year’s Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Their helium-filled adventure will debut on Thursday, November 28th, 2013. Click on the image below to see a closer view of what it will look like:
When my daughter was growing up, we lived a hop, skip, and a jump from the Museum of Natural History. That was great just in itself, but it also meant that every Thanksgiving we were at the starting point for the Macy's parade. My daughter was less than a week old when I bundled her up and took her to the parade. She spent the entire time gazing at my face, but still I felt like a real parent for the first time. As she grew, we usually skipped the parade. It was soooo crowded that we watched it on TV. But we still had our traditions. On Wednesday night we'd go to the museum grounds, where workers would be blowing up the balloons for the big day. It was fun to wander up and down the streets and see our favorites as they filled with helium and magically came to life. Of course, eventually word got out and that too became soooo crowded.
Balloons Over Broadway takes me back to those days. This amazing picture book tells the story of how Tony Sarg, a puppeteer, came to invent the gigantic balloons that are the hallmark of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade. Like many icons, the balloons just always seemed to exist, so kudos to
Melissa Sweet for unearthing how they developed from blimp-like rubber balloons carried on wooden sticks to the soaring helium-filled wonders of today.
Melissa Sweet, a Caldecott Honor winner, obviously threw herself into this book. The artwork, a combination of watercolor illustrations and collages made from found objects, fabrics, and handmade puppets, exude the creativity and love of play that Sarg devoted his life to. In an authors note, Sweet tells us that she "played with all sorts of materials, not knowing exactly what the outcome would be." The end result shows that it was time well spent.
The book concludes with additional info about Tony Sarg, as well as a bibliography. The back end papers feature a 1933 advertisement from the New York Times, touting the upcoming parade. Among the "helium filled monsters" is one I would give anything to see: "The Colicky Kid: Listen to him squall!! He's mad. He's bad. He yowls bloody murder!"
And head on over to Sweet's website to view her
Balloons Over Broadway activity kit. It has fun templates of puppets for kids (or anybody) to make.
Balloons Over Broadway: The True Story of the Puppeteer of Macy's Parade
by Melissa Sweet
Houghton Mifflin, 40 pages
Published: November 2011
Barnes & Noble will debut the newest member of its Nook family on Monday (but Engadget has a sneak peek. The new version, called the Nook Tablet, looks a lot like the Nook Color and will have twice the RAM and built-in storage of the Kindle... Read the rest of this post
Diary of a Wimpy Kid author Jeff Kinney will embark on a national tour to promote the fifth book in his series, The Ugly Truth. The title comes out on November 9th. Five million copies have been ordered for the first printing.
Publisher’s Weekly has more: “The launch for The Ugly Truth will take place at BookPeople in Austin on the book’s on-sale date; the store will have a kid-sized version of the Cheese Touch board game, a dunk tank, and other activities on hand for the event.”
On November 21st, Kinney will be in New York City at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade for Greg Heffley’s debut as a giant balloon. The wimpy kid will appear alongside other literary characters including Horton the Elephant and Spider-Man. Right now, readers enter a sweepstakes for a trip to the Macy’s Thanksgiving Parade.
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Thanks for an informative review, the links, and for sharing your memories!