For teachers and families looking for Mandarin Chinese Children's books to read this Thanksgiving, check out JoJo's top picks. Of the following 4 books, 2 of them are available as ebooks, so you can get instant access!   

1. 感恩节 (gǎn ēn jié) Thanksgiving

This Chinese reader is the second of the holiday series co-authored by Pearl You (Founder of You Consulting) and Qin Hua (JoJo Educator in Residence), two experienced Chinese immersion educators. It is a wonderful book for reading aloud and teaching Thanksgiving–related language to Chinese learners.

This book serves as a fantastic tool to introduce Thanksgiving related vocabulary to young Chinese learners. In this story, we see how a typical family celebrates Thanksgiving and how every family member plays their part in making the holiday fun for everyone. Available in both beginner and bridge levels, this is a great pick for a wide range of learners!

Download beginner level here.

Download bridge level here.

2. 石头汤 (shí tóu tāng), Stone Soup

If you are trying to teach children be thankful, you'll love this animated version of the classic folktale, Stone Soup by award-winning author Jon Muth.

Three monks come to a village, carrying an empty cooking pot. Upon their arrival, the villagers are unwilling to share any food with them. The monks drop a stone in the pot and start to cook "stone soup". The villagers feel strange at first, but eventually do not mind parting with some ingredients to help the monks out. In the end, a delicious and nourishing pot of soup is enjoyed by all. Children love this book's clever animations and enjoy “cooking” stone soup with the characters. It is a good story to teach children to be accepting, caring, loving, generous, and thankful.

Printed book is available for purchase here.

This book and 1000+ other beautiful interactive ebooks are available in the Ellabook App. You can purchase the Ellabook App annual membership through JoJo for an exclusive discount here. 

3. 神奇校车，第一次感恩节 (shén qí xiào chē ， dì yī cì gǎn ēn jié) The Magic School Bus at the First Thanksgiving  

Included in the Magic School Bus 20-book Set

In this installation in the beloved Magic School Bus series, the students go on a journey to celebrate the first Thanksgiving holiday together with the pilgrims and Native Americans. Packed with fun and educational content from cover to cover, this book is sure to impress both students and parents alike.

Ms. Frizzle's class is making a meal just like what the pilgrims had at the first Thanksgiving. That means no pumpkin pie. Can it be true? The class is determined to find out. Hop on the Magic School Bus and meet the native Americans and pilgrims who started our American tradition.  

4. 谢谢你，熊猫先生 (xiè xiè nǐ ， xióng māo xiān shēng) Thank you, Mr. Panda

Included in Mr. Panda Good Manners- 4 Chinese Children's Books

Generous Mr. Panda is giving away presents to all his animal friends, including a mouse, an octopus, an elephant, and a lemur, but they aren't being very grateful about the gifts they receive.  Just as Mr. Panda introduced good manners in Please, Mr. Panda (included in the bundle), Thank You, Mr. Panda is heart-warming adventure teaching children to be grateful.  The book features simple language to teach children manners and gratefulness in Chinese.

At JoJo, we believe that cultivating early literacy is the key to helping a child retain a second language for life. We hope your children and students enjoy these wonderful books about being thankful! Happy Thanksgiving!