The Giving Day

PreS-Gr 1–This gentle tale focuses on traditional Thanksgiving themes: community, friendship, and helping others. Doerrfeld (The Welcome Wagon) brings readers back to the town of Cubby Hill, where different kinds of animals live together peacefully. The story begins at the Giving Festival, a community event where animals arrive bearing food, games, and musical instruments. Cooper, a bear cub, is there with his grandmother, and they have brought honey jars to give to others. Cooper is giving out the jars by himself for the first time, and his grandmother reminds him to be careful since these are the last jars of honey for the season. As he sets out to deliver the honey at the fair, Coopers gets sidetracked by animals who need help with various things, and some jars get broken. At the end, Cooper thinks he is in trouble; instead, the other animals gather around him to express their gratitude, his grandmother beams with pride, and the others assist him with the rest of his deliveries. The digital illustrations are childlike and somewhat plain, though creatures of all kinds are shown smiling and interacting helpfully with each other.