Thankful - by Eileen Spinelli (Hardcover)

About the Book

Thankful, by bestselling and award-winning children's author Eileen Spinelli, combines charming rhymes and whimsical illustrations to convey the importance of being thankful for everyday blessings.

Book Synopsis

Celebrate everyday blessings, practice thankfulness, and observe the wonderful acts of service that keep us going each and every day. Eileen Spinelli, bestselling and award-winning children's author, charms with rhymes and whimsy in Thankful, perfect for any young reader and their family.

Little ones will snuggle up close as they enjoy this charming, cozy book about being thankful. From the local reporter to the doctor and pastor, children will delight as they explore the people of their town and what they are thankful for.

This heartwarming picture book for ages 4-8:

• Is an endearing story: While it shows the many things we have to be thankful for, it also showcases a parent's love for their child
• Focuses on blessings: Teaches children to be thankful for things or people that we tend to take for granted, including essential workers who keep our lives running
• Is meant to be read aloud: Fun for readers young and old, Eileen Spinelli uses a bouncy, rhyming text that is keep children engaged.
• A great read: Can be enjoyed year-round but especially during Valentines Day or Thanksgiving with its focus on love and gratefulness.
• A perfect gift: Whether it's for a baby shower or baptism, Christmas or birthday, this adorable picture book is sure to please.

Review Quotes

PreS-Gr 1-In this charming picture book, two siblings look at people around them and imagine the things they are grateful for. "The waitress is thankful/for comfortable shoes./The local reporter, for interesting news./The gardener's/thankful for/every green/sprout./The fireman, /for putting the fire out." Additionally, an artist is thankful for color and light and a mayor is thankful for every vote. The same two children role-play the various professions throughout. Spinelli celebrates gratitude in simple rhyming couplets. The text is straightforward but helps support the whimsical illustrations that flow onto the following pages. Soft pastel images outlined in black highlight the details on the pages, as does the vast amount of white space. This book creates an opportunity for parents and children to talk about for whom and what they are thankful. VERDICT A must-have for library collections; great for one-on-one reading or for storytimes.-Megan McGinnis, Sachem Public Library, Holbrook, NY--School Library Journal

Spinelli lists many things for which people are thankful. The pictures tell a pleasing counterpoint to this deceptively simple rhyme. It begins 'The waitress is thankful for comfortable shoes. / The local reporter, for interesting news.' The pictures show a little girl playing waitress to her brother, who playacts the reporter. The news gets interesting when the girl trips over the (omnipresent) cat. As the poem continues, the Caucasian children and their parents embody all the different roles and occupations it mentions. The poet is thankful for rhyme and the artist, for light and color, although the girl dancer is not particularly pleased with her brother's painterly rendition of her visual art. The cozy hotel for the traveler is a tent for the siblings in the backyard, and the grateful chef is their father in the kitchen. Even the pastor (the only character mentioned who is not a family member) is grateful, as he is presented with a posy from the girl, for 'God's loving word.' The line is squiggly and energetic, with pastel color and figures that float over white space or have whole rooms or gardens to roam in. Both children, grateful for morning stories, appear in a double-page spread surrounded by books and stuffed toys as their mother reads to them---an image that begs to be a poster. Low-key and gentle; a book to be thankful for. (Picture book. 4-7)--Kirkus

Thankful, Eileen Spinelli's rhyming picture book, illustrated by Archie Preston introduces youngsters age four to eight to a 'lovable pair of siblings.' Their story and pictures demonstrate an important spirit of appreciation and gratitude. Memorable couplets and colorful illustrations of gardeners, firemen, dancers and more illustrate their reasons to be grateful, such as the example in the opening rhyme. 'The waitress is thankful for comfortable shoes.' 'The local reporter for interesting news.' This timeless message of gratitude and appreciation.--The Midwest Book Review