Over the River: A Turkey's Tale Book and Audiocassette Tape Set
Derek Anderson, Annie Miesels
Accessory
(Scholastic Book Clubs Softcover Book and Audiocassette Tape, March 15, 2006)
Anderson's amusing acrylic artwork provides a new twist on a favorite holiday song. The book contains the familiar lyrics, but the illustrations show that in this version, it's a turkey family on the way to Grandma's house. As a young bird carrying a Pilgrim doll and his parents walk through the snowy woods, they meet a horse "that knows the way / to carry the sleigh" and does so -- literally, trotting up a hill with a sled tucked under one arm. Meanwhile, a young hunter and a barely ferocious-looking hound are going over their plan to catch a gobbler for dinner. They give chase as the birds come into view, but an odd scarecrow (the turkeys in disguise) temporarily stops the pursuers in their tracks. Then the horse screeches downhill on the sled right into the middle of everything, and the pie that Mother Turkey was bringing to Grandma is ruined. But, this is Thanksgiving, after all, and everyone sits down for a nice meal -- except for the boy, who is still outside hunting down his hunting hound. This is a fun, humorous addition to Thanksgiving collections. Children will enjoy looking at the entertaining illustrations and comparing the chaos pictured there to the words of the old song. The lyrics and music are included on the endpapers.