John Braswell

Writing a Thesis- InTurkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano and Lee Harper, a trepidatious turkey tries to hide in plain sight on the farm. But none of the other animals are convinced as turkey attempts to mimic each and every other animal on the farm by disguising himself to look like the other animals. Turkey's attempts at camoflauge hit a snag when the farmer and his wife realize turkey is missing and start looking for alternate sources of meat. This silly story ends with a solution that even Turkey can eat. I really like this humorous and original take on an overdone Thanksgiving day theme. This story approaches the "turkey on the run" Thanksgiving plot with an extraordinary amount of creativity, thanks to a great collaboration between the author and the illustrator.

Turkey Surprise by Peggy Archer features a hunted turkey and the two Pilgrim brothers who have been assigned to bring him home for the the Thanksgiving feast. One of the brothers has compassion on the bird whose days are numbered, though, and using their wits and their well-developed hiding skills, they come up with another plan to save the day, the feast, and the turkey's neck. This story has a much-used theme for Thanksgiving day children's stories but the plot is delivered well in this story book.

Another book about turkeys in danger on Thanksgiving day is A Plump and Perky Turkey by Teresa Bateman and Jeff Shelly. A canny turkey outwits the townspeople who are trying to make him their next meal.

Yet another one in this category is Run, Turkey, Run! by Diane Mayr and Laura Rader.

You'll want to gobble up I'm a Turkey by Jim Arnosky. This book uses the words from Arnosky's folk song as the text of his story. The music is included in a CD included at that back of the book. This musical story book teaches about wild turkeys and could be used to bring some music and motion into your library story hour.

In need of some Thanksgiving counting books?10 Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston and Richard F. Deas and Five Silly Turkeys by Salina Yoon will get you started counting birds.

Over the River: A Turkey's Tale by Derek Anderson. This unusual twist on a familiar song features a turkey family and their adventures on their way to Grandmother's house on Thanksgiving day.