Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving

"Thank You Sarah--the Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving" is delightfully written children's historical picture book about a little known chapter of American history dealing with our national holiday of Thanksgiving. The author writes in a very entertaining way which is almost comical at times. Children will find the book easy to read and of high interest. Each page in the book is beautifully illustrated with much detail and at times adds humor to the story. This book, available in paperback and hardback, is suggested for ages 5 to 10 but all ages would enjoy reading it.This is the true story of Sarah Josepha Buell Hale, who spent 38 years of her life writing letters and campaigning for the establishment of Thanksgiving as a national holiday. Most students and adults will not remember Sarah Hale for her most important accomplishment -- making Thanksgiving a national holiday, but will remember her for a less important event in her life. Sarah was a teacher and one day a lamb followed one of her students to school and waited outside the schoolhouse for its owner all day. Sarah wrote a poem about the incident and entitled it "Mary Had A Little Lamb" which became one of the most popular nursery rhymes and songs in America. In this book you will learn about perseverence, standing up for what you believe, and that "grass roots' movements can become successful.The author, Laurie Halse Anderson, is a rare individual who can capture historical events and write them in a style that captivates elementary school kids' attentions. This book not only documents Sarah Hale's efforts through 38 years of campaigning for a National Holiday of Thanksgiving, but includes many of the historical events during this same time period.At the end of this very entertaining book, there are four pages of a "Feast of Facts" about Sarah Hale, her life, the history of Thanksgiving, Vintage America, the Civil War, and the importance of letter writing and political activism.Just when you thought you knew everything about Thanksgiving, this book reveals the true story of how Thanksgiving became a national holiday in a very enjoyable and delightful way.

My daughters and I read it this year and wow! A historic figure that I never heard of, but she did so much in her life. My daughters and I were inspired by this story and I loved the emphasis on perseverence and that we can make a difference. Women didn't even have the right to vote yet, but this book showed how they made a difference by writing to their representatives and not giving up.

Love everything about this book. Easy to read but not babyish, colorful pictures that are well drawn and an interesting story. Sarah Hale doesn’t get nearly enough credit for her work but I’m thankful this book was written and published.

Something no one in our family was aware of. Made for an interesting read prior to our Thanksgiving meal.

Wonderful book. Lots of history that is interesting and kids were engaged in the story! Loved it. And enjoyed reading the extra "feast of facts" at the end about history and about Sarah Hale.

My name is Sarah, as well! I thought my little 4-year-old grandson would get a kick out of this book here at Thanksgiving. I was right! It is a very interesting story in a book with lovely illustrations. The drawings of the happy turkeys are especially cute. Also a great story to open up tough topics for discussion with kids, like the Civil War and slavery.

I bought this after some folks suggested it as the 'real' story of Thanksgiving. It offers a historical take and certainly praises literacy and persistence, but the whole book left me feeling like it was praise for all the old white lady school marms ever. I have nothing against old white lady school marms, though I am not sure I want to offer them up as paragons of adulthood (better than Disney princesses but that is not hard), but I was really looking for a different message about the complexities of the cultural interactions around this holiday. That is not this.

I was so very happy when my book arrived much earlier than expected! It was exactly as described on Amazon, and I’m always looking for thrift stores to buy from because of the investment they make in local communities. This book will be loved by many students in the future in my classroom.

Interesting