It’s that time of year to fill your cup with something pumpkin spice and get lost in another world. Having an amazing book to read is as comforting as a walk in the crisp air or the aroma of pumpkin bread in the oven. Here are recommendations for all ages that inspire gratitude and thankfulness.
The Gratitude Jar
Katrina Liu
Ages 3-8
Sometimes all it takes to recognize and appreciate your blessings is a new perspective. In a world of entitlement and comparison, it can be easy to dwell on the material things others have that we do not. Mina’s complaining inspires her mother to begin a gratitude jar and soon things begin to change for the whole family. Feeling gratitude is a learned skill through modeling. Find the biggest jar you can and begin to fill it up with all your blessings. What a physical and visual model for the whole family to recognize what truly matters. Open the jar on Thanksgiving for a new holiday tradition.
A Rover’s Story
Jasmine Warga
Ages 9-12
Science fiction is not my genre, but I am reformed. Follow this Newbery honor author as she takes the reader on a journey to Mars with a fictional rover named Resilience. Res has been created by NASA scientists to explore the planet and return with information. But how could scientists know that Res would develop human emotions that would take him on a journey that exceeds the mind of his programmed database? We can do hard things. We can grow and change and stretch and improve. Being thankful for challenges and resilience (what a perfect name for this character) along the way can be positively transformative. And sci-fi fans are going to love it! Does Res make it back to earth? No spoilers here.
All the Colors of the Dark
Chris Whitaker
Adult Fiction
This mystery/thriller is an unlikely choice for a book on gratitude. But joining Whitaker and his amazing characters will confirm that relationships and those we choose to love can make your heart explode with gratitude. As we follow Patch through a lifetime of searching, his commitment to his unfaltering beliefs and blinding hope cement the importance of people in our lives who truly matter and who hold us close to their hearts. Building strong relationships helps us navigate in such a disconnected world. Guard those relationships and hold tightly to hope, always.