Thank You, Sarah: Thank You, Sarah

From the author of Speak and Fever, 1793, comes the never-before-told tale of Sarah Josepha Hale, the extraordinary "lady editor" who made Thanksgiving a national holiday!

Thanksgiving might have started with a jubilant feast on Plymouth's shore. But by the 1800s America's observance was waning. None of the presidents nor Congress sought to revive the holiday. And so one invincible "lady editor" name Sarah Hale took it upon herself to rewrite the recipe for Thanksgiving as we know it today. This is an inspirational, historical, all-out boisterous tale about perseverance and belief: In 1863 Hale's thirty-five years of petitioning and orations got Abraham Lincoln thinking. He signed the Thanksgiving Proclamation that very year, declaring it a national holiday. This story is a tribute to Hale, her fellow campaigners, and to the amendable government that affords citizens the power to make the world a better place!

Author: Laurie Halse Anderson
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Published: 10/01/2002
Pages: 40
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.00lbs
Size: 8.53h x 11.30w x 0.45d
ISBN: 9780689847875
Audience: Ages 4-8

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 3.7
Point Value: 0.5
Interest Level: Lower Grade
Quiz #/Name: 62571 / Thank You, Sarah: The Woman Who Saved Thanksgiving


Award: North Carolina Children's Book Award - Nominee
Award: Black-Eyed Susan Award - Nominee
Award: Capitol Choices: Noteworthy Books for Children and Teens - Recommended
Award: South Carolina Childrens, Junior and Young Adult Book Award - Nominee
Award: Young Hoosier Book Award - Nominee


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Review - Children 10/01/2002 pg. 1462
School Library Journal 12/01/2002 pg. 116
Booklist 12/15/2002 pg. 764
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 02/01/2003 pg. 225
Hornbook Guide to Children 07/01/2002 pg. 113 - Recommended, Satisfactory
Booklist 03/01/2004 pg. 1205
Hornbook Guide to Children 01/01/2003 pg. 113 - Recommended, Satisfactory
Publishers Weekly 09/23/2002

About the Author
Laurie Halse Anderson is a New York Times bestselling author known for tackling tough subjects with humor and sensitivity. She's twice been a National Book Award finalist, for Chains and Speak; Chains also received the 2009 Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction. Laurie was chosen for the 2009 Margaret A. Edwards Award and received the Astrid Lindgren Memorial Award in 2023, presented to her by the Crown Princess of Sweden. She lives in Pennsylvania, and you can follow her adventures on Twitter @HalseAnderson or visit her at MadWomanintheForest.com.

Matt Faulkner is an acclaimed illustrator who has written and illustrated more than thirty books, including Gaijin: American Prisoner of War, which won the Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Literature Award. He is married to author and children's librarian Kris Remenar. Visit him at MattFaulkner.com.