🎓 Skills Your Child Will Develop
- 💬 Vocabulary Expansion — Books deliver vocabulary 3–4x more efficiently than conversation — introducing words children would rarely encounter in everyday speech and building the word knowledge that is the single strongest predictor of reading comprehension.
- ❤️ Empathy & Emotional Intelligence — Experiencing a character's feelings, understanding their motivations, and seeing how they navigate challenges develops the theory of mind and empathy that underlie healthy relationships, moral reasoning, and social intelligence.
- 🔢 Story Structure Understanding — Following a story's arc — beginning, problem, resolution, ending — builds the narrative schema that makes complex texts comprehensible and supports children's own storytelling and writing development.
- 😊 Love of Reading — Every positive reading experience — a funny book, an exciting story, a perfectly timed cuddle — builds the reading identity and intrinsic motivation that sustains literacy development through the independent reading years.
Over the River: A Turkey’s TaleBy Derek Anderson, lyrics by Lydia Maria Child
From the Preschool Book
“Over the river and through the woods
To Grandmother’s house we go
The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh
Through the white and drifted snow.”
About the Preschool Book
The illustrations tell the story in
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale. Based on the traditional song by Lydia Maria Child, Derek Anderson brings the story to life with his painted illustrations. The journey of a family of turkeys to grandmother’s house includes a ferocious dog, a sledding horse, and a peaceful ending at Thanksgiving dinner!
From the Reviewer – Shelley Frost
The familiar lyrics of
Over the River and Through the Woods spring to life on the pages of
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale. Lydia Maria Child surely never expected her poem to become a picture book when it was first published in 1844. Yet Anderson uses the lyrics as a launching point for his detailed illustrations to weave a story full of humor and excitement. It is a fun way to welcome the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday!
Illustrations Tell the Rest of the Story
Simply reading the lyrics only offers half the story in
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale. Derek Anderson spins a humorous tale with his illustrations based on the lyrics. Preschoolers will enjoy scouring the illustrations to discover the details of this story. Subsequent readings will reveal details missed in prior readings. The illustrations provide an excellent opportunity for preschoolers to assist in telling the story, even without being able to read the words on the page. It will enable them to improve their vocabulary and story telling skills.
Suspense Around Every Corner
The turkey family unwittingly stumbles upon a hunting dog in training, just waiting to capture a turkey to earn treats from his master. The ensuing chase involves disguises, a sledding horse, and one angry grandma turkey whose prize pumpkin pie is destroyed in the melee. Preschoolers will be on the edge of their seats until the very end. They will be relieved to discover that all of the creatures make amends and share a delicious, meat-free Thanksgiving dinner at the Gobblers’ table.
Humorous Twist to Serious Lyrics
While the lyrics themselves aren’t meant to be humorous, Derek Anderson fills his illustrations with elements of humor. “The horse knows the way to carry the sleigh through the white and drifted snow” is depicted quite literally with a horse walking on his hind legs, wooden sled under his “arm”. A shy scarecrow covers himself with his arms after the turkey family steals his clothes as a disguise. The turkey family lives like we do, with a table, newspapers, card games, and toys. Adults and preschoolers alike will laugh at the creative illustrations in
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale.
Educational Opportunities
Because the text of
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale is a song, this book can be either read or sung. It is a great way to teach preschoolers a traditional holiday song. This preschool book is also a great way to get preschoolers involved in telling the story. Since most of the action takes place within the pictures, preschoolers can make up the story. This helps develop their language and cognitive skills, as well as stretching their imagination. At first glance,
Over the River: A Turkey’s Tale is a humorous holiday romp through the forest. Upon further inspection, a wealth of educational opportunities exist between the covers!
Book Details
Title:
Over the River: A Turkey’s TaleReading Level: Ages 4-8
Hardcover: 40 pages
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing
Language:English
ISBN: 9780689876356
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Absolutely — repeated reading of favorite books is both normal and highly beneficial. With each reading, children understand more: they catch details they missed, connect the story to new experiences, and increasingly delight in predicting what happens next. The request to re-read is a sign of deep engagement, not a cognitive limitation. Never replace a requested re-read with a book you've chosen — follow the child's reading lead. Boredom with a book you've read 30 times doesn't mean the child is bored.
