Book Description
for The Thanksgiving Door by Debby Atwell
From Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC)
Debby Atwell’s warm, original Thanksgiving story starts with a small disaster when Ann burns the Thanksgiving dinner she and Ed were going to share in their quiet home. Wanting to make the best of things, the older couple heads to the New World Café. They’ve unknowingly wandered into a family celebration: the immigrant family that runs the new restaurant is about to sit down to their first Thanksgiving meal. The younger family members are horrified at the intrusion (“Who left the front door open?”), but Grandmother, who just might know something about that door, sets them straight. “Family cooks turkey big as a doghouse, but we don’t share? Bah!” Ann and Ed are swept up in a joyful, raucous celebration that blends old world traditions with new. Atwell’s lively folk-art illustrations show a family of Eastern European immigrants generously welcoming Ann and Ed into their midst. (Ages 5–9)
CCBC Choices 2004 . © Cooperative Children's Book Center, Univ. of Wisconsin - Madison, 2004. Used with permission.