Turkey Books for Kids
These Turkey Books for Kids are perfect for the holidays or just to have a fun turkey learning unit! Be certain that you let the kids read through them all and talk about what they think.
If you’re looking for even more great book recommendations for kids, enjoy! You can never have too many great books for the kids to read.
Thanksgiving is coming! Don’t just try teaching your kids about it, give them something fun to read to help them learn about America’s Holiday!
These Turkey Books for Kids will help you teach your kids about Thanksgiving in a fun and interesting way! These are great for your Farm Animals Unit Study.
Whether it’s Pikachu or Pete the Cat, the disguise a turkey project lets kids bring their creative visions to life.
Turkey Resources for Kids
- Farm Animals Find the Letter T
- Turkey T-Shirts Toddler Craft
- Easy Turkey with Feathers Craft
- Fun Turkey Crafts and Activities
Turkey Read Alouds for Kids
Every book below is a turkey read aloud, sorted by who it actually works for. The first group is short enough for toddlers and preschoolers who will not sit long. The middle group is the funny ones that kindergarten and early elementary kids ask for again. The last group is for Thanksgiving Day itself. Each one lists the reading age and roughly how long it takes to read out loud, so you can pick one that fits the time you have.
Turkey Read Alouds for Toddlers and Preschoolers
1
Little Turkey: Finger Puppet Book
Start here if you are reading to a lap baby or a wiggly two year old. The puppet pokes through the middle of the board book and Little Turkey goes looking for his friends around the farm, one page at a time. I especially like that the puppet gives you something to do with your hands, which is usually what keeps this age sitting still.Best for: babies and toddlers
Reading age: Baby to 3
Read-aloud time: 12 pages, about 2 minutes
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Reading age: Baby to 3
Read-aloud time: 12 pages, about 2 minutes
2
Five Silly Turkeys
A good pick when you want counting practice that does not feel like counting practice. Five turkeys do something ridiculous on each page and disappear one by one until nobody is left. The rhythm is simple enough that toddlers start saying the numbers along with you by about the third read.Best for: toddlers and counting
Reading age: 1 to 3
Read-aloud time: 12 pages, about 2 minutes
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Reading age: 1 to 3
Read-aloud time: 12 pages, about 2 minutes
3
10 Fat Turkeys
This is the one to hand a preschool teacher. Ten turkeys fall off a fence doing progressively sillier stunts, and the rhyme is built so kids shout the last word of every verse. I especially like it for a group read aloud, because the call and response keeps a whole circle of children with you.Best for: preschool circle time
Reading age: 2 to 5
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 2 to 5
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
4
T is for Turkey: A True Thanksgiving Story
Pick this one if you want actual history mixed in with the silliness. It walks the alphabet through the first Thanksgiving while the kids in the book put on a school play. I especially like that it teaches without stopping the story, which is rare in an alphabet book.Best for: learning the Thanksgiving story
Reading age: 2 to 6
Read-aloud time: 24 pages, about 4 minutes
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Reading age: 2 to 6
Read-aloud time: 24 pages, about 4 minutes
5
The Turkey Who Forgot How To Gobble
Good for a child who is shy about speaking up. Joey the turkey loses his gobble and goes around the farm trying on every other animal sound before he finds his own again. The farm noises give you an excuse to be loud, and kids who will not read aloud will usually still do the animal sounds.Best for: reluctant talkers
Reading age: 3 to 5
Read-aloud time: 30 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 3 to 5
Read-aloud time: 30 pages, about 5 minutes
Funny Turkey Read Alouds for Kindergarten and Up
6
Turkey Trouble
If you only add one turkey book this year, make it this one. Turkey knows what happens at Thanksgiving, so he disguises himself as every other animal on the farm to avoid ending up on the table. I especially like how hard kids laugh at the terrible costumes, and the ending lands without anybody getting eaten.Best for: the one they ask for again
Reading age: 3 to 6
Read-aloud time: 40 pages, about 6 minutes
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Reading age: 3 to 6
Read-aloud time: 40 pages, about 6 minutes
7
Turkey Claus
Add this if Turkey Trouble was a hit, because it is the same turkey and the same joke engine. He survived Thanksgiving, Christmas is coming, and he heads for the North Pole in a run of increasingly bad disguises. It also carries you neatly from November into December.Best for: after Turkey Trouble
Reading age: 3 to 7
Read-aloud time: 40 pages, about 6 minutes
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Reading age: 3 to 7
Read-aloud time: 40 pages, about 6 minutes
8
A Plump and Perky Turkey
A good choice when you want rhyme that actually scans. The town needs a turkey for Thanksgiving so they hold an art contest to lure one in, and the turkey outsmarts every one of them. I especially like the language here, because it reads out loud smoothly instead of forcing you to fake the meter.Best for: reading out loud
Reading age: 2 to 7
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 2 to 7
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
9
Run, Turkey, Run!
Reach for this when you have five minutes and need everyone quiet. The turkey hides in one farm animal spot after another while the farmer closes in, and the repeating structure lets kids call out what is coming next. Short, fast, and the suspense does the work for you.Best for: a quick read before bed
Reading age: 3 to 6
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 3 to 6
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
10
How to Catch a Turkey
The newest one on this list and the one kids already know from the series. A turkey is loose in a school during the Thanksgiving play and the students build increasingly elaborate traps to catch him. I especially like that the traps hand you an obvious craft or STEM activity afterward if you want one.Best for: classroom and homeschool projects
Reading age: 2 to 6
Read-aloud time: 40 pages, about 6 minutes
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Reading age: 2 to 6
Read-aloud time: 40 pages, about 6 minutes
11
Tom the Turkey
This one skews older than the rest of the list. Tom is working to avoid becoming dinner, and the vocabulary and jokes sit closer to early elementary than preschool. Worth having if your read alouds have a spread of ages sitting in on them.Best for: older siblings in the room
Reading age: 5 to 9
Read-aloud time: 24 pages, about 4 minutes
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Reading age: 5 to 9
Read-aloud time: 24 pages, about 4 minutes
Thanksgiving Turkey Books for the Whole Table
12
A Turkey for Thanksgiving
The one I would pick for the holiday itself. Mr. and Mrs. Moose set out to find a turkey for their Thanksgiving table and the turkey is terrified, right up until he works out that he was invited as a guest. I especially like the turn at the end, because it gives you something to talk about besides the food.Best for: Thanksgiving Day itself
Reading age: 3 to 7
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 3 to 7
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
13
The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks
Add this if you want the gratitude angle handled for you. The cubs raise a turkey as a pet and then have to work out what Thanksgiving actually means, and the book lands on being thankful rather than on the meal. It is part of the Living Lights line, so the faith content is stated rather than implied.Best for: families who want the faith angle
Reading age: 2 to 6
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 2 to 6
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
14
Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
A good closer for the season. Eight kids tour a turkey farm the day before Thanksgiving and smuggle the turkeys home under their coats, and the whole thing runs on the Night Before Christmas meter. I especially like that older kids catch the poem it is copying, which gets you a second conversation free.Best for: reading the night before
Reading age: 3 to 7
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
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Reading age: 3 to 7
Read-aloud time: 32 pages, about 5 minutes
I hope you and your kids have fun learning about these Turkeys as part of your Thanksgiving Unit Study!
Great round-up of Thanksgiving books. Thanks for sharing. I hopped over from Sharing Saturday.
I loved all the interesting titles and brief synopsis-thanks for the list