Thanksgiving on the cranberry bog farm is Grandmother's favorite. Each year she encourages Maggie to invite someone to dinner who is lonely or poor. Grandmother herself has invited Mr. Horace, who uses a gold cane, smells of lavender, and is all alone. Maggie chooses to invite her friend, Mr. Whiskers. Grandmother is less than thrilled as she suspects that Mr. Whiskers is after her secret cranberry bread recipe. Nevertheless, Maggie is hopeful Grandmother will change her mind. When there is a scuffle in the dining room followed by both guests exiting quickly, it looks like Grandmother was right. Or was she? Things are not always as they appear, and Maggie knows the truth. Just when it looks like the recipe is gone for good, Grandmother is in for a surprise.

The Bottom Line: This book originally became popular in 1971, and now it's back. The illustrations in watercolor and ink have classic appeal. This delightful tale reminds readers what is truly important at Thanksgiving: family and friends.

For the complete review, please visit the Mini Book Bytes Book Review Blog. ( )

Grandmother and Maggie live on the edge of a cranberry bog in New England in this delightful Thanksgiving classic, first published in 1971. The creator of the finest cranberry bread in the country, Grandmother guards her recipe zealously, intending to pass it down to Maggie one day. When Thanksgiving dinner arrives, the two invited guests - the lavender-smelling, gold-cane-walking Mr. Horace, and the scruffy, bearded sea captain Mr. Whiskers (real name: Uriah Peabody) - couldn't present more of a contrast. Grandmother prefers Mr. Horace to the smelly Mr. Whiskers, whom she had never trusted, but appearances aren't everything, as she soon learns...

I have read and enjoyed all three of Wende and Harry Devlin's picture-books about the Old Black Witch - Old Black Witch, Old Witch and the Polka-Dot Ribbon, and Old Witch Rescues Halloween - but although I have long been aware of their Cranberry series, I have never gotten around to picking any of them up. How glad I am that I now have, as I found Cranberry Thanksgiving absolutely charming, enjoying both the story and the artwork. The illustrations here have a vintage cartoon-like style reminiscent of many of the books I read as a young girl, in the early 1980s. Recommended to anyone who appreciates vintage picture-books, or who is looking for fun Thanksgiving stories for the picture-book set! ( )

Re-read times 1000. I love Mr. Whiskers.

The theme or message of this story is to not judge a book by its cover and that people aren’t always as they seem. I thought this book to be, personally, a dull and boring read. Although the pictures were nice and even the dialogue at times were fun such as when Mr. Whiskers said “Don’t trust a man because he smells of lavender and has a gold cane,” I thought the overall story to be unappealing. For one, a grandmother wanting to hide her recipe from those who want to steal it wasn’t an interesting or engaging plot in my opinion and feel young kids, especially young boys, may feel the same. Another reason why I didn’t enjoy the story besides the dull plot, was that when I was reading it, I didn’t feel any connection really to it being Thanksgiving. There were no other family members invited besides the two men, the young girl Maggie, and the grandmother. I also did not understand the saying “How about Sixteen Men on a Dead Man’s Chest?” that was repeated throughout the story which I thought may have had no relevance to the Thanksgiving holiday. The overall story and plot was just uninteresting, not much action, and did not keep me engaged throughout. ( )

There are so many things I like about this book! The two main things I like about this book are the plot twist, and the illustrations. During the book the grandmother and Maggie both invite a lonely guest. Grandmother wasn't very pleased with Maggie's guest. Throughout the whole book you think it is Maggie's guest. Mr. Whisker's, who is going to steal the secret recipe. However grandmother's guest who smelled like lavender and had a gold cane was the one whole stole the recipe. It really was such a surprise. The other thing I really like about this book is the illustrations. Considering this is a historical fiction book, it does a great job at showing that it isn't from the 21st century. The clothes that the characters are wearing are very outdated. For example, the grandmother and maggie are in outdated, puffy dresses, and the men are in suits. One suit is blue and one is green plaid. Outfits you don't see people wearing these days. The overall message of this story is to not judge a book by its cover... or smell. ( )