Thanksgiving in the Barn by Nadine B. Westcott is a pop-up book that charmed me from the first page. It’s about farm animals coming to a Thanksgiving dinner hosted by a little girl. When you open the book a large, friendly goat pops up. He’s holding his hat and an open jar of cranberry sauce. I love the charm of the illustrations and of the unexpected humor. The goat tells the little girl “after you eat the sauce, I’ll eat the tin”. The cow brings pies because she’s been baking all day. The pies look delicious but they’re made out of hay. All the farm animals bring something to the feast.
The pop up pages are tag board. They are fairly sturdy. The pop up features work well and open easily. They wouldn’t hold up to a toddler who wanted to rip, but they should be fine for children who can look and touch without grabbing. Some of the pages have elaborate pop up designs with all the characters, a table, and even the food on the table. And yes, those hay pies and tin of cranberry sauce are included.
I’ve read a lot of children’s books, it’s rare that I see unexpected rhyming words. This book is full of surprising rhymes like toss and sauce, grin and tin, and arrives and flies.
Even a turkey comes to dinner. On the last page all the animals say grace and give thanks for their blessings. I like that the animals take that moment to give thanks and be grateful. The turkey is “thankful to be here and not on your plate”.
This is a fun Thanksgiving book for children ages three to six.
Also see:
25 Books About Thanksgiving
Kid’s Pumpkin Projects – Deanna F. Cook