The Perfect Thanksgiving (by Eileen Spinelli)

Is one family's way of celebrating a holiday better than another's? The author of this colorful story says no. She compares and contrasts a "perfect" family's Thanksgiving Day with that of a more ragtag crew and finds them to be equally good because of the love that is apparent in each family: It is not the family's style that counts, but the feelings between the family members.

The humorous story is written from the child's point of view and focuses on just the sorts of things that a child might notice. As the young narrator goes down her list of things that are right about Abigail's family and wrong about her own, the reader can tell that she fears that her family will not make the grade. Happily, in the end, she can see beneath the contrasting exteriors of the two families to the close-knit feelings in each. The gouache, colored pencil, and collage art is zany, contemporary, and attractive.