Thanksgiving Dinner			A Thanksgiving Fable
	A Turkey Speaks			All in a Word
	At Grandma's House			Be Thankful
	First Thanksgiving			The Pilgrim Children
	Gobble Gobble			I Went Hungry on Thanksgiving
	I'm Thankful I'm Not			A Pilgrim Poem
	Thanksgiving Day			Thanksgiving
	Holiday Letters			The Lost Turkey
	Thanksgiving			Thanksgiving
	The Little Girl and the Turkey			There's a Big Fat Turkey
	Turkey Turkey

A THANKSGIVING DINNER
by Maude M. Grant

Take a turkey, stuff it fat,
Some of this and some of that.
Get some turnips, peel them well.
Cook a big squash in its shell.
Now potatoes, big and white,
Mash till they are soft and light.
Cranberries, so tart and sweet,
With the turkey we must eat.
Pickles-yes-and then, oh my!
For a dessert a pumpkin pie,
Golden brown and spicy sweet.
What a fine Thanksgiving treat!


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A THANKSGIVING FABLE
by Oliver Herford

It was a hungry pussy cat,
upon Thanksgiving morn,
And she watched a thankful little mouse,
that ate an ear of corn.
"If I ate that thankful little mouse,
how thankful he should be,
When he had made a meal himself,
to make a meal for me!
Then with his Thanks for having fed,
and thanks for feeding me.
With all his thankfulness inside,
how thankful I shall be!"
Thus mused the hungry pussy cat,
upon Thanksgiving Day.
But the little mouse had overheard
and declined (with thanks) to stay.


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A TURKEY SPEAKS

I have never understood
why anyone would
roast the turkey
and shuck the clams
and crisp the croutons
and shell the peas
and candy the sweets
and compote the cranberries
and bake the pies
and clear the table
and wash the dishes
and fall into bed
when they could sit back
and enjoy a hamburger.


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All in a Word
By Aileen Fisher

T	for time to be together, turkey,talk and tangy weather
H	for harvest stored away, home and hearth and holiday
A	for Autumn's frosty art, and abundance in the heart
N	for neighbors and November, nice things, new things to remember
K	for kitchen, kettle's croon, kith and kin expected soon
S	for sizzles, sights and sounds, and something special that abounds
	That spells THANKS for joy in living
	And a jolly good Thanksgiving.

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AT GRANDMA'S HOUSE

I like the taste of turkey
Any time throughout the year
But it never seems to taste as good
As when Thanksgiving's here.
Could be it's all the trimmings
That are cooked with it to eat-
But I think it's eating at Grandma's house
That makes it such a treat!

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BE THANKFUL

Be thankful for home
Be thankful for food
Be thankful for birds that fly

Be thankful for sleep
Be thankful for flowers
Be thankful for clouds in the sky.

Be thankful for friends
Be thankful for rain
And the rainbows that follow close by.


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FIRST THANKSGIVING
by Aileen Fisher

Venison for stew and roasting,
oysters in the ashes toasting,
geese done to a turn,
berries (dried) and wild grapes (seeded)
mixed with dough and gently kneaded-
what a feast to earn!
Indian corn in strange disguises,
ash cakes, hoe cakes (many sizes),
kernels roasted brown....
after months of frugal living
what a welcome first Thanksgiving
there in Plymouth town!


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THE PILGRIM CHILDREN
By Leland B Jacobs

The pilgrim children
Long ago
Learned to live
With ice and snow

They lived in cabins,
Slept in cold
When nights were long
And winds blew cold

But all of them
Were glad, I'd say
To have that first
Thanksgiving Day

And when they went
To bed at night
I'd guess their dreams
Were warm and bright


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GOBBLE GOBBLE
by Lynn Beaird

A turkey is a funny bird,
His head goes wobble, wobble.
He knows just one funny word-
Gobble, gobble, gobble.


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I WENT HUNGRY ON THANKSGIVING
By Jack Prelutsky

I was hungry on Thanksgiving
But I couldn't eat a thing
I couldn't eat a drumstick
And I couldn't eat a wing
I couldn't have the pickles
Or the gravy covered rice
The pumpkin pie was luscious
But I couldn't have a slice
I was starving for some stuffing
Or a tasty yellow yam
Or a puffy little muffin
Spread with homemade berry jam
Our dinner looked delicious
But I didn't dare to touch
I went hungry on Thanksgiving
My new braces hurt too much!


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I'M THANKFUL I'M NOT!

I'm thankful I'm not a turkey,
When it talks it says
nothing but "gobble."
When it walks it does
nothing but wobble.
It lives on a farm with
hundreds off friends.
But on Thanksgiving a
turkey's life ends.
I'm thankful I'm not a turkey!

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PILGRIM POEM

Many years ago the Pilgrims came.
They sailed on a ship - the Mayflower was its name.

They sailed across the Atlantic blue,
So they could worship the way they wanted to.

Many people died along the way,
And the first winter was hard they say.

The Native Americans were already here.
They helped the Pilgrims plant corn and hunt deer.

They all got together to share food and pray,
And that's why we celebrate Thanksgiving Day!


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THANKSGIVING DAY

Thanksgiving Day I like to see
Our cook perform her witchery
She turns a pumpkin into pie
As easily as you or I
Can wave a hand or wink an eye
She takes leftover bread or muffin
And changes them to turkey stuffin'
She changes cranberries to sauce
And meats to stews ands stews to broths
And when she mixes gingerbread
It turns into a man instead
With frosting collar 'round his throat
And raisin buttons down his coat
Oh, some like magic made with wands
And some read magic out of books
And some like fairy spells and charms
But I like magic made by cooks


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THANKSGIVING

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest is all gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway-
Thanksgiving comes again!


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HOLIDAY LETTERS

T	is for turkey on Thanksgiving Day,
H	is for "Hurry, I'm hungry!" we say,
A	is for Auntie, she works and she mends,
N	is for Native American friends.
K	is for kitchen, the oven's on low,
S	is for silverware, set in a row.
G	is for Grandma, the one we love most,
I	is for inside, where we're warm as toast.
V	is for vegetables, eat them we try,
I	is for ice cream on top of the pie.
N	is for never do we have enough dressing,
G	is for Grandpa, who gives thanks for our blessings.

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THE LOST TURKEY

Turkey lay there on the table
Turkey big and brown
But when we went to cook him....
He was nowhere to be found.
We looked all through the kitchen
And searched the pantry well.
We asked Jim and John about it...
and even Annabelle.
And even little Mary
and she said "Tourse I do.
Poor turkey didn't feel so good
Because he lost his head,
So I put my jammies on him
And tucked him in my bed!


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THANKSGIVING
By Marchette Chute

I'm glad that I was good today
As good as I was able
I'm glad to be inside this house
And sitting at this table

I'm glad that it's Thanksgiving Day
And all the world is merry
And I'm glad I have a fork
And that the pie is cherry.


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THANKSGIVING

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest is all gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain.
So open wide the doorway-
Thanksgiving comes again!


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THE LITTLE GIRL AND THE TURKEY
by Dorothy Aldis

The little girl said
As she asked for more:
"But what is the Turkey
Thankful for?"


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THERE'S A BIG FAT TURKEY

There's a big fat turkey on Grandfather's farm
Who thinks he's very happy.
He spreads his tail into a great big fan
And struts around all day.
You should hear him gobble at the girls and boys-
He thinks he's singing when he makes that noise.
He'll sing his song a different way,
Upon Thanksgiving Day

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TURKEY TURKEY

Turkey, Turkey, look at you,
Please be careful what you do.
Thanksgiving Day is almost here,
We eat turkey every year.
Go, hide out in the woods,
We'll eat pizza, as we should!


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Here are some links to other poetry pages.
If you know of others that should be included, please let me know.

Not Just for Kids Thanksgiving Poems	Grandpa Tucker's Rhymes and Tales
There's No Place Like Home For the Holidays	Alphabet Soup Early Education Poems