Here are 7 heart-warming Thanksgiving stories by well-known authors—short stories in the public domain, but not abridgements—that the entire family can enjoy as read alouds through the days leading to Thanksgiving Day.

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Happy Thanksgiving!

1. “Why He Carried the Turkey” by James Baldwin
   Charming, simple story about real humility. You may also be interested in the audio version.
2. “Captain Christy’s Thanksgiving” by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey
   Children come up with an idea to show thanks to the man who risked his life to save them and many others.
3. “An Old-Fashioned Thanksgiving” by Louisa May Alcott
   A Thanksgiving favorite where the children in a family make their own Thanksgiving…or try.
4. “Bert’s Thanksgiving” by J. T. Trowbridge
   A humble young man wins the approval of a man he believes more needy than himself.
5. “Aunt Susanna’s Thanksgiving Dinner” by Lucy Maud Montgomery
   Young ladies trying to make their way in the world after their parents’ death try to please a difficult, but loved, aunt.
6. “The Night Before Thanksgiving” by Sarah Orne Jewett
   An older woman who has served others all of her life now finds herself in need.
7. “Two Thanksgiving Day Gentlemen” by O. Henry
   In a way that only he can, O. Henry weaves an all-too-common story while furnishing the ending with a twist that sets the point.