Sarah Gives Thanks: How Thanksgiving Became a National Holiday

Gr 1–5—More of a biography about Sarah Josepha Hale than a holiday book, this well-researched, engaging read-aloud offers youngsters a glimpse into the lives of women and families in 19th-century America as well as to the history of how Thanksgiving became a national holiday. More commonly known as the author of "Mary Had a Little Lamb," Hale was actually a feminist before her time, despite her lack of formal education. When she became widowed with five young children, she wrote to support her family. Her book of poems and first novel led to a position as an editor at Ladies' Magazine. Unlike other magazines of the period, this publication ran articles on history, science, and schools for women. Hale went on to take a job as an "editress" at Lady's Book, making it "the most widely read magazine in the country." As her name and opinions gained popularity, she became an untiring advocate for making Thanksgiving a national holiday. She wrote editorials and petitioned four different presidents over the course of 36 years, until Abraham Lincoln finally proclaimed the last Thursday of November a holiday in 1863. Generous, full-spread watercolor illustrations add humor and colorful details about costume, home, publishing, and political life during this period. Libraries that own Laurie Halse Anderson's Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving (S & S, 2002) will still want this fresh, accessible offering.—Barbara Auerbach, PS 217, Brooklyn, NY