Over the River and Through the Wood

June 15, 2018
The traditional song about a sleigh ride to Grandmother's house for Thanksgiving dinner is interpreted with a snowy setting in the mountains.As the story opens, a brother and sister duo is ready to set off in their red, horse-drawn sleigh, with their parents preparing to follow in their own purple sleigh. As the children journey though "white and drifted snow," they cross over a river and along the way meet a rabbit, beavers, moose, foxes, and a wolf who follow them to Grandmother's farm. The boy and girl are welcomed by Grandmother and her companion, a man with a curly, white beard, who might be their grandfather or a friend or maybe even Santa, considering his dark red hat with white trim. The conclusion finds all the characters, including the friendly animals, joining together for an outdoor Thanksgiving feast. Bright, vibrant illustrations convey a cheery tone with smiling characters and cooperative animals joining in the festive celebration. The text can be read as a story or sung to the familiar tune, though musical notation is not included. There is no indication that the words to the now-traditional song are from a poem written by Lydia Maria Child in 1844. Children, parents, and Grandmother all have light-brown skin and straight, dark hair, while Grandmother's companion has pale skin.This jaunty, optimistic interpretation of the nostalgic Thanksgiving song will be useful in library holiday collections as well as for family celebrations. (Picture book. 3-6)

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September 17, 2018
In a fresh and colorful staging of the seasonal song, two siblings make a snowy sleigh journey to their grandmother’s house, encountering friendly woodland animals en route. Randall blends the snow’s white with warmer colors that suit a book about making merry: ruby and sienna in the trees’ bark, the siblings’ sleigh, and the little horse that pulls it. Amethyst mountains rise above the scenes, and Grandmother’s house is a welcoming blue. The children and their parents, grandmother, and her bearded companion sit down for a festive Thanksgiving meal, joined by the horse and their new animal friends. Randall brings a feeling of abundance to the occasion. Ages 3–7.

July 1, 2019
To the six verses of the classic holiday song, two children ride in a sleigh through a snow-covered forest to see their grandparents on Thanksgiving Day. Painterly illustrations feature friendly, round-faced humans and smiling forest creatures. There's a lack of visual context for some of the more old-fashioned words, a missed opportunity to make them relevant for modern kids.

(Copyright 2019 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)