Sarah Hale's Letter to Lincoln Saved Thanksgiving

Sarah Hale's 38-year letter writing campaign assured Thanksgiving Day for our nation.

America's Thanksgiving Day holiday is credited to the Pilgrims. The truth is, we have a national celebration thanks to Sarah Hale's 38-year letter writing campaign. Hale wanted Thanksgiving to be a national holiday, and she started a campaign in 1825 to bring it to pass. In Hale's day—two hundred years after the pilgrim's arrival—Thanksgiving had been mostly forgotten. Sarah Josepha Hale was born in Newport, N.H., in 1788.  Her father, disabled Revolutionary War Captain Gordon Buell, and her mother, Martha Whittlesay Buell, believed in equal education for both sexes. According to Laurie Halse Anderson's book "Thank You Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving," Hale grew up listening to her father's Revolutionary War stories.  They made a …

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Kids' Books Weekly

Honoring Native Americans in Literature

Well chosen children's literature is an effective way to counter deeply held stereotypes and teach cultural respect.

"There are plenty of "good" books -- well-written, exciting, from respected authors, much-loved by their readers, with well-developed characters -- that are inaccurate, stereotypical, fanciful, or just plain dehumanizing in their depiction of the Native characters," write Naomi Caldwell, Gabriella Kaye and Lisa Mitten in I is for Inclusion.  Yet curriculum writers Guy Jones and Sally Moomaw say, "... with the possible exception of classroom visits by American Indian people, excellent children's literature is the most effective way to counter deeply held stereotypes and help children focus on similarities among peoples as well as cultural differences." How can parents, teachers and caregivers know which books to choose?  In honor of Native …

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