Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey

I read this to my kindergarten class every Thanksgiving when I was teaching. The boy in the story has a dad who is a truck driver so he spends all his time with his grandparents (Abuelo and Abuela). His dad sends along a turkey with a note that he will be home for Thanksgiving dinner. Well, as the boy takes care of and becomes more and more attached to the turkey it becomes apparent they are not going to have a turkey dinner for Thanksgiving. Nice ending and a very cute story!

This book is special to me because it is about a holiday. I love this book because it makes me laugh, think of my family, and it makes me think about Thanksgiving. I really enjoyed this book. I really think I should keep this book in my heart. Everyday I read this book. That's why this book is important to me. Also that's why this is one of my favorite book! From,Kiana

The narrator's dad is a long-haul truck driver who sends a live baby turkey to his son, who lives in New York City with his grandparents. Along with the turkey, he sends instructions to fatten him up for Thanksgiving Day. But by the time dad returns for Thanksgiving, the bird has become a pet, not a meal. The story is quite fun, with just a little tension, but no scary bits. There is a sprinkling of Spanish words throughout the text, and a bilingual glossary at the end of the book. Altogether, the book has about 1300 words.

I use this book with at-risk 2nd and 3rd grade readers. It is wonderfully multicultural, and involves a multigenerational,Hispanic family living in New York city at Thanksgiving time. Miguel's father is a long-haul trucker who sends him a live turkey to raise for Thanksgiving dinner. Papa will be home to share it with the family. The predictable happens: boy and turkey fall in love. Miguel tries to reach his father in time to spare Gracias' life. At this point, I have my students write a letter, too, as if it were their pet they wanted to keep. The suspense builds until Gracias follows Miguel to church, and gets blessed by the priest! The grandparents are wonderfully supportive, and Tia Rosa is predictably pessimistic. Gracias comes to Thanksgiving dinner, but not in the way expected. My students make written predictions about how Papa will react, and what will happen next. This book is written by Joy Cowley,who writes many of the books we use in the Reading Recovery Program for at-risk readers in the United States. I really love it as it inspires poor writers to write, and gets everyone involved in the enfolding drama.