Thanksgiving Makes Us Hungry: 6 Tasty Kids’ Books About Eating Too Much
by Tom Burns
In the United States, there’s no holiday that screams “LET’S EAT!” more than Thanksgiving. So many Thanksgiving traditions revolve around sitting down with family and friends to share a meal, a glorious meal that can promise leftovers for the lucky and sore stomachs for those who overindulge.
If your kids can’t wait for their annual feast, here are seven books you might want to share with them that highlight the pros and cons (mostly cons) of eating too much.
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The Incredible Book Eating Boy
Available from:This might be the perfect book for eager readers at Thanksgiving: a tale about a boy who just can’t stop eating books. At first, Henry’s book-eating powers seem fantastic. (He gets smarter with every book he eats.) But soon Henry starts to feel queasy and realizes that he can’t digest all the information he’s consumed. A genius little story from the illustrator of the popular The Day The Crayons Quit.
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The Very Hungry Caterpillar
Available from:One of the best board books of all time, now in a 50th anniversary golden edition. An essential read, because every kid needs to know that if they eat “one piece of chocolate cake, one ice-cream cone, one pickle, one slice of Swiss cheese, one slice of salami, one lollipop, one piece of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake, and one slice of watermelon,” YES, they will definitely have a stomachache!
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Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Available from:If you’re worried about your kids eating too many sweets over the holiday, here are two words that should scare them straight: Augustus Gloop. A classic story about food bringing out the best and worst in people, which, when you think about it, makes it oddly appropriate for Thanksgiving.
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Dragons Love Tacos
Available from:In Rubin and Salmieri’s fan favorite, dragons of all kinds pig out on literal boatloads of tacos — which is all fine and well, until spicy salsa gets involved. As you might imagine, dragons and spicy salsa aren’t the safest combination. In Dragons Love Tacos 2, the dragons are dealing with a taco shortage, and they’ll stop at nothing (including traveling back in time) to get more.
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Strega Nona’s Gift
Available from:It’s the holiday season in Italy, and Strega Nona (“Grandma Witch”) has several feasts to prepare for and host. Big Anthony, her eager but bumbling kitchen helper, can’t help himself from sneaking a taste. His punishment is a funny cautionary tale for kids whose impatience get the better of them on Thanksgiving.
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Klondike, Do Not Eat Those Cupcakes!
On his little sister’s birthday, Klondike is oh-so-tempted by the pink-frosted cupcakes that their mom whipped up for the party. The story’s narrator tries every trick up their sleeve to distract Klondike from the cupcakes, but there’s just no stopping him. Can Klondike save the party from his appetite?
Editor’s note: This article was originally published in 2015 and updated in 2019.