The Can-Do Thanksgiving [Hardcover]

Marion Hess Pomeranc (Author), Marion Hess Pomeranc (Author), Nancy Cote (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 5 and up | Grade Level: K and up

A little girl writes "Dee's Peas, Oak St. School" on the can of peas she donates to her school's Thanksgiving food drive, she winds up making a new friends. Full color.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2-A well-intentioned effort that lacks punch. Dee saves her money and buys a can of peas for the school's food drive. Hopeful that she will find out where it goes, she attaches a note with her name and school. A week later, a church group contacts the school and asks for volunteers to help with its Thanksgiving feast. Dee goes, locates her peas, and makes friends with a homeless boy. The story, while sweet, is contrived and the text is flat. Alternating between double-page spreads and circular vignettes, the appealing watercolor and gouache illustrations depict multiethnic and handicapped characters. Filled with bright colors and smiling faces, they help to move the story along. An additional purchase.
Anne Knickerbocker, formerly at Cedar Brook Elementary School, Houston, TX
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Pomeranc takes a familiar seasonal tradition--a school food drive--and makes it a lively, appealing story. Dee brings canned peas for the food drive, but she is unwilling to let them go, never to learn where they wind up. She puts a yellow sticky with her name and school on her can, and sure enough, the church that receives her class contribution sends a thank-you note and asks the children whether they would like to volunteer to serve at the Thanksgiving dinner. On Thanksgiving, Dee not only meets a new friend but also makes sure her peas are the star of the meal. Kids will readily identify with the realistic dialogue, engaging story, and Dee's natural curiosity as she wonders what will happen to her donation. Matching the text is Cote's sprightly art, which uses bright colors and familiar scenes featuring a multi-ethnic cast to tell its story. A good choice for Thanksgiving--and the rest of the year as well. Ilene Cooper

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (September 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0807510548
• ISBN-13: 978-0807510544
• Product Dimensions: 10.3 x 8.2 x 0.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,232,013 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As a teacher, I found this title an ideal teaching tool., September 9, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Can-Do Thanksgiving (Hardcover)

The Can-Do Thanksgiving offers young children, their parents, and/or their teachers a vehicle in which to begin to explore the subject of homelessness, hunger, and the needy. Its strenth is that it's written in a format that kids can understand and have fun with. It will also give a child a feeling that perhaps in their own way they can do something. After all, we ask our kids donate cans of food to feed the hungry but it often ends there. Well, the cans do go somewhere and each one can help someone, somehow, in its own way. In The Can-Do Thanksgiving children will experience this first hand.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent to use with small children to teach community service, November 6, 2007

By 

J. Stout (Portsmouth, Ohio) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Can-Do Thanksgiving (Hardcover)

I am surprised that SLJ panned this title. I personally think it is excellently crafted and very age-appropriate for grade K-3 for teaching the spirit of community service. The main character approaches the service projects the way a kid might, and she works through her commitment to the project with the spirit of a kid. The book is not preachy and definitely not a downer, like "oh, look at these poor people and their lousy lives.." like some books that are intended to create sympathy do. The people who come to the church for the community Thanksgiving dinner are portrayed as normal people with dignity and the story does not create a sharp delineation between the children who are doing the service from the children who are receiving the service.
I am using this title with my Brownie Girl Scout troop to teach them about how children can go about helping in bigger projects that benefit the whole community.

5.0 out of 5 stars The best Thanksgiving Book, June 16, 2009

By 

Lainie (Swansea, MA USA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Can-Do Thanksgiving (Hardcover)

Dee and her classmates collect canned goods for a local soup kitchen, then have the privilege of helping serve Thanksgiving dinner there. A warm story that shows if everyone does just a small part, it can make a big difference. A must read for every elementary school.