5 Children’s Authors Parents Can Be Thankful For This Thanksgiving Weekend

For those parents lucky enough to have Grandma and Grandpa go to your house and then stay the entire Thanksgiving weekend, this article is irrelevant. But if you traveled this holiday and have a long, laborious, “Are we there yet?” drive back; or if your family had other engagements and have already left, leaving you–exhausted from hosting–alone with your precious, bored children, you might need some help keeping the kids entertained without leaving the house or turning on the television.

We’ve got you and your entire family covered with this selection of books.

 

1. Shel Silverstein

Though Thanksgiving is over, the spirit of thankfulness is still pervading the house. For little ones, the idea of giving thanks for things they take for granted might still be a difficult concept. Bring out The Giving Tree for a solemn, heartbreaking, but sweet and effective way to teach children of all ages, for that matter, about selflessness.

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Source: Amazon

If you need a real time-filler, Where The Sidewalk Ends might not seem like a first choice: it’s a big, thick book of poetry. However, the simple art, and the utterly wacky poems that almost always conclude with a huge epiphany moment will keep your kids glued to your side as they try to understand why someone would make a “Me Stew,” and also keep yourself engaged and interested as you experience revelation after revelation through these truly powerful messages. Make it extra interesting for your kids by choosing a poem that does not have an illustration, and have your kid draw a picture for it!

sidewalk

Source: Amazon

2. Jon Klassen

If your kids are still pretty young–infant through six or seven years old–you will be thankful for Jon Klassen and his hat trilogy. With very few words per page, these are the kinds of books that your kids will engage with in a different way than Silverstein. They will want to read these books over and over, staring long and hard at the pictures. These books are actually great for early readers, because they are so simple and lyrical, your kids will probably start trying to say the words along with you, even though they can’t read them yet: this will help with word and letter recognition.

hat

Source: Amazon

3. Jean-Paul Mulders

Jean-Paul Mulders’ book, The Pruwahaha Monster, is like a thriller for tiny people. Without really scaring your kids, this author will keep them in suspense. Part of suspense is activating physical responses: this is, in part, accomplished by Mulders drawing the audience into the storytelling by using and reusing “monster sounds” that will make kids forget their “inside voices” as they shout along with the monster.

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Source: Amazon

4. Veronica Roth

If your kids are more the young adult variety, they have probably already read this author’s works. However, if they haven’t (or haven’t in a long time), Roth provides young readers with big, fat, meaty page-turners that will keep your pre-teens and teens entertained this weekend. Once your kids have charged through Roth’s books, you can rent the film versions!

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Source: Amazon

5. Rainbow Rowell

Again, if your kids are a little older, but really just not the type to pick up War and Peace, Rainbow Rowell has a charming novel about young romance: Eleanor and ParkQuirky and accepting, this book will satisfy your kids’ budding romantic side in a safe, sweet way.

park

Source: Amazon

No matter your kids’ ages, this holiday weekend you can be thankful for good writers writing quality literature. Keep your tired, wired little ones entertained without turning on the TV with these amazing authors.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwCDTFDKzMc

YouTube Channel: Little Angel Reader 1

 

Featured image via Pixabay