Thanksgiving at Our House

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Balancing full-page pictures with a series of panels and combining an original story with traditional rhymes and songs, Watson has created a pleasantly cluttered book. At its center is an extended family preparing for--and then enjoying--a Thanksgiving celebration. Told through the collective voice of the children of the house, the narration of events is choppy but spontaneous: ``It's Thursday, Thanksgiving Day! We get up early. The turkey is already roasting. We take baths and put on our party clothes.'' Although Thanksgiving does not lend itself to the visual vibrancy of the colorful holidays featured in Watson's The Night Before Christmas or A Valentine for You , these illustrations successfully capture the high-spirited anticipation and the pervasive goodwill that surrounds this family-oriented day. Ages 3-6. (Sept.)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-- Another cozy addition to Watson's holiday series. Here, she takes a large, cheery family in the country through the Thanksgiving celebration from the scrubbing-up of the house and its inhabitants; through the arrival of the relatives; the cooking and devouring of the feast; the playing of games; and finally the departure of the sated, sleepy guests into the softly falling snow. The homey details are told in an easy-to-read narrative and pictured in Watson's usual crisp, lively ink-and-watercolor quasi-comic-strip illustrations in warm, muted tones. The rounded, robust, active figures of the children and adults of all ages express the happiness and comfort of a close, loving family. As an extra bonus, she includes unfamiliar nursery rhymes that are appropriate to the activities portrayed. The layout of text and illustrations of all sizes is especially varied and attractive. --Patricia Pearl, formerly at First Presbyterian School, Martinsville, VA