Top 5 for Friday - Thanksgiving Day

It may already be Friday in New Zealand, but in most of North America it is still Thursday, which means that a lot of people are lying back, completely stuffed to the brim with lots of good food and family festivity, because the fourth Tuesday of November is Thanksgiving Day.

I feel a bit of a fraud as I don't have a drop of pilgrim or American blood in me and have never celebrated (or even thought much about) Thanksgiving Day. I must also admit in the following list that I have not read any of these books. But I really wanted to finish the week off on a positive note so here is my Top 5 List for Thanksgiving Day.

1. If Thanksgiving is about family and feasting (which to a large extent it is), then first up we have to have a recipe book. Thanksgiving 101 : celebrate America's favorite holiday with America's Thanksgiving expert (Rick Rodgers) looks like it has it all. And in the lead up to Christmas, who doesn't need a few new recipes. One of the reviews says "Rodgers tells you Everything You've Always Wanted to Know About Cooking Thanksgiving Dinner but Were Too Harassed to Ask". Sounds like my kind of book.
2. Thanksgiving : the biography of an American holiday (James W. Baker). We know Thanksgiving primarily as an American tradition (although this is not srictly true as Thanksgiving and/or harvest festivals are celebrated in many other places around the world. However if you want to know the American history, this is one of the books from the library that can help you.
3. A Thanksgiving book written by a Kiwi - who would have thought it? I was surprised to come across this one. Gracias, the Thanksgiving Turkey by none other than Joy Cowley. Trouble ensues when Papa gets Miguel a turkey to fatten up for Thanksgiving and Miguel develops an attachment to it.
4. A catered Thanksgiving : a mystery with recipes (Isis Crawford) is the seventh title in a series. I (and a lot of our customers) enjoy books that integrate two different elements (i.e. the story and the recipe or the story and the quilts). The Publisher's description makes it sound quite light hearted and good fun so I may have to add it to my TBR list. The proprietors of A Little Taste of Heaven, their Longely, N.Y., catering company, prepare a Thanksgiving feast for Scrooge-like fireworks manufacturer Monty Field and his family at the Field mansion. When Monty comes into the kitchen to test the roasting turkey, Bernie and Libby watch in horror as Monty taps the pop-up button in the bird's breast and the turkey explodes, blowing off the top of his head. Libby fears their stuffing made the turkey explode, but they soon learn that there was plenty of rivalry among the assembled family members, any one of whom had reason to want Monty dead. A heavy snowstorm ensures the suspects stay put as the sisters start to investigate. That their father, Sean, was on bad terms with the victim complicates their task. The action builds to more fireworks and a dramatic rescue.
5. Thanksgiving on Thursday (Mary Pope Osborne) is one of the Magic Tree House series for children. I love the concept and so do a lot of the kids. Jack and Annie travel in their magic treehouse to the year 1621, where they celebrate the first Thanksgiving with the Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians in the New Plymouth Colony.

Have a good and safe weekend everyone.