Thankful by Eileen Spinellii

One of the issues I spent many hours mulling over when I first became a mom was how to teach the intangibles, things like kindness, respect, patience, and thankfulness. While I recognized the value of making these life long lessons I was at a loss how to intentionally guide when language was a factor (all of my volunteer experience was with extremely chatty pre-teens - what an awesome age).
Now that our son is of an age where he is interacting more with others I'm so grateful for books which explore and illustrates concepts that we're trying to encourage in his everyday like thankfulness and this is where the beauty of Spinelli's book comes in.

Thankful by Eileen Spinelli takes a classic illustration style and walks readers through both mundane and whimsical situations that show people who are happy and a reason for that thankfulness.
The book itself is an easy read with each page holding a short statement centering on a scenario on thankfulness.
While the book doesn't explicitly teach thankfulness I love how each page can be used to tie thankfulness into real life and/or launch a discussion regarding the role of thankfulness in everyday life making it a potentially great learning tool depending on a child's learning strengths.

As far as book construction and illustration goes Thankful has the same quality I've come to expect from Zondervan. A sturdy, hardcover book Thankful offers illustrations that remind me of the classic books I would read at my Grandmother's house growing up adding a nostalgic factor that broadens this books appeal across generations.





4 out of 5 stars


Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookLook Bloggers <http://booklookbloggers.com> book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 <http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/waisidx_03/16cfr255_03.html> : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”