When we think of Thanksgiving Day, we usually think about an abundance of food, family and friends, but what were the events that led up to the celebration of this special day?

Thanksgiving Day is a popular holiday in America associated with a celebration of family, a bountiful feast, and friends. The origin of this holiday however is often overlooked, but involves courage, faith, sacrifice, making new friends, sharing, and a determination to succeed. This delightfully illustrated children’s book will soon become a family tradition every Thanksgiving Day. It is a wonderful tool to instruct children on the history of the holiday as well as a time of reflection on what is most important in our lives.

Dear Mrs. Turkey,

Thanksgiving Day is one of my most favorite holidays! Of course, you are the “star” that day in lots of places in the United States, and you sure do taste great, but a turkey is not what Thanksgiving Day is truly about. Thanksgiving is made up of two words---“thanks” and “giving”---and that’s what my letter to you explains.

I’m a kid who loves to eat. And what’s the best day of the year to eat, and eat, and EAT? You guessed it---Thanksgiving Day!

On that day, a lot of our family members and friends come to our house. From early in the morning until late at night, we eat. . .and Eat. . .AND EAT. And right at the center of attention is the turkey! My mom rubs some special seasoning on it the night before. Then, she wakes up early in the morning to put it in the oven to bake slowly. All day we smell it cooking, along with the trimmings of mashed potatoes, yams, gravy, and corn. I think my favorite part is the amazing desserts---pies, sweetbreads, cookies, and lots of other goodies! You name it and we probably have it to eat that day. I gobble down so much food that my belly gets S-O-O-O F-U-L-L! Wow! I’m getting hungry right now just thinking about it as I write this letter to you!

By the way, did you notice that I wrote the word “gobble” just now? Ha ha! That was smart of me, wasn’t it, since turkeys are known for making “gobble” noises.

It’s awesome that you provide such yummy food for us to eat, Mrs. Turkey. And from what I just said of our Thanksgiving Day, it certainly seems that the celebration of this wonderful holiday is all about you. But even though you are a very special part (that I really enjoy!), Thanksgiving isn’t all about food! There is so much more to this holiday. It’s an amazing story of courage and faith that I’m going to tell you about.

It all began many, many years ago, way back around 1600. A group of people named the Pilgrims lived in England. They loved God and wanted to worship Him freely without any restrictions. But, instead, they were arrested, put in jail, and punished when they worshiped God. So God gave them the idea to move across the Atlantic Ocean to live in the New World where they would be free to pray to God and worship Him. I think that was very brave of them. They left everything they had because of their love for God and their trust in Him!

The New World was the name given to what we now know as the United States of America. This was long before there were cars or planes, so the Pilgrims had to sail across a huge ocean on a ship. It wasn’t easy, but they escaped England on a ship named the Mayflower. In all, there were about 102 Pilgrims who made the trip. And guess what? There were 32 kids on that ship too! Kids are very important to God (and their moms and dads) so they weren’t left behind. . .