Chapter Book #5

Thanksgiving on Thursday
Magic Tree House #27

 by Mary Pope Osborne

Illustrator: Sal Murdocca

Genre: Juvenile Fiction, Fantasy 
Subgenre: Chapter Book Series 

Themes: Community, Hard Work, Thanksgiving Day  

Primary and Secondary Characters: Primary - Jack and Annie 
Secondary - Priscilla, Squanto, Governor Bradford, Captain Standish , Pilgrims, Wampanoag Indians 

Date Published: 2002

Publishing Company: Scholastic/Random House Children's Books  

Summary: Jack and Annie travel back in time to Plymouth Massachusetts during the year 1621. They meet Pilgrims and Wampanoag Indians and discover that their lives are very different. Jack and Annie trying to help  fish and gather food for the first Thanksgiving Day. They learn that life in 1621 was hard and that even the children worked hard to help out. Jack and Annie discover that words do not have the same meaning back in 1621. With a turkey mishap and a lesson in planting corn the Wampanoag way Jack and Annie learn the real magic of Thanksgiving.     


How this book could be used to teach students: This book could be used to spark students' imagination and introduce historical fantasy. The students will gain historical knowledge from the books setting and be able to contrast two different time periods.      


A little extra: http://www.magictreehouse.com/#home?intro=0