MaiStoryBook Library

MaiStoryBook: Thanks for Nothing! + “Fall Thanks with Bruce*

by MaiStoryBook

Introducing a story about celebrating friendship and the season of giving thanks with our favorite *Bear* ~ featured in the MaiStoryBook Library Collection:

“Thanks for Nothing!” by Ryan T. Higgins

*~Click here to purchase your own copy of “Thanks for Nothing!” to start on your own reading adventure! (This is an affiliate link~ a small percentage of your purchase will go to MaiStoryBook to help create Reading Resources for your littles)

Book Synopsis and Review

It’s fall in Soggy Hollow, and Bruce is preparing a surprise fall feast for his friends. However, his friends are full of surprises of their own, and soon, Bruce’s fall feast meal prep is going far from planned. His mice friends have a lot to be thankful for this fall afternoon, but Bruce isn’t so thankful for all of their thanking… Will they get to enjoy a fall feast at the end of the day??

This *Little Bruce Book* is short and sweet, with a simple message for littles: Give thanks for friendship and celebrate time together! With sparse text and expressive illustrations that add to the narrative and bring the story to life, this is an excellent read to inspire little learners to ring in the season of thanks!

Vocabulary

  • crisp (p. 1) cool, clear, dry
  • feast (p. 2) a big meal with a lot of food, usually at a party or celebration
  • stew (p. 3) a dish of meat and vegetables cooked in a pot for a long time
  • grumbles (p. 23) to complain in a low, grumpy voice
  • cheers (p. 25) shout for joy or excitement

Themes/ Main Ideas

  • Celebrate and give thanks for friendship and time spent together.
  • Let your family and friends know that you are thankful to them. Saying thank you is a good way to give thanks and spread cheer!

YouTube Video: Guided Shared-Reading Read Aloud Example

Example of a shared-reading, interactive Read Aloud of “Thanks for Nothing!” – how to subtly introduce the vocabulary list words within the text, ask guided questions, and spark conversation!

Subscribe: MaiStoryBook Youtube Channel for more *interactive* read aloud videos!

*Fall Thanks with Bruce* Craft

Even though it’s been a wild 1.5 years with Covid, there is still plenty to be grateful for. For me, this past year and a half has emphasized the importance of family. With social distancing and quarantine, my family and I came to rely even more closely and heavily on each other. We spent more time together too, cooking dinners on Friday nights instead of going out, movie nights at home instead of in a crowded and dark theater, afternoons together on the patio or walking through the neighborhood instead of strolling out and about on our own or with friends. This giving season, I am especially giving thanks to my family, who helped make these times of social distancing and quarantine memorable and full of love. So what are you and your little learners thankful for this year, and how can you show your thanks? Check out the bookish craft inspired by the story below, too reate your own Fall Thanks Bruce Crafts!

Materials

Directions

  • Choose a Chef Bruce Template: Color version or Black and White Version to Color.
  • Print it Out.
  • If you choose the black and white version, use coloring utensils to color it in. 
  • Cut out the Chef Bruce Template
  • Next, choose a Front Stew Pot Template  to use. There are color or black and white versions. 
  • There are different writing prompt choices on the Front Stew pot Template: “____’s Fall Feast” “_____ Gives Thanks” “_____ is Thankful For” 
  • Write your name in the blank, and color in if you chose B&W.
  • Then, choose an “Inside Stew Pot”
  • In both the black & white and color sets, the following templates to answer the prompts are available: Blank inside space, picture frame responses, lines and picture space,  all lines for writing. 
  • Print the “front side” double sided with the “Inside template you chose, OR Print both pages separately and glue together back-to-back.
  • (This will allow you to fold up the bottom flap so that you have a stew pot. When you fold the flap back down, the writing/drawing on the inside of the basket will be revealed.)
  • Fill in the inside prompts with either your favorite fall foods and who you’d share a fall feast with, or with what you are grateful for and was to give thanks.
  • Color in the Black and white version.
  • Cut out the template around the outer edges. *Keep the bottom tab on**
  • On the ”Inside Stew Pot Template” , there is a small dotted line right under the lid. Make an incision on that small line. This is for when you fold up the bottom flap of the stew pot so the tab can slide into the incision and keep the stew potclosed. 
  • To reveal the inside, pull the tab out of the incision and reveal the writing/picture inside. 
  • Glue the back of the top of the stew pot to the Body of the Chef Bruce Template, so that the stewis right under his head.

Enjoy Your *Fall Thanks with Bruce* Craft

  • Share your Bruce Craft with family and friends and talk about your favorite fall foods and what you are thankful for
  • Share your Bruce Craft and ask your family and friends what their favorite fall foods are and how they give thanks
  • Use your Bruce Craft to help you and your family plan a special fall meal or snack
  • Use your Bruce Craft for idea to give thanks each day
  • Display your Bruce Craft for festive fall fun and to remind each other to give thanks!

*~ I hope you are enjoying plenty of *Autumn* reading adventures this fall, Mai Friends! Tag me on Instagram @MaiStoryBookLibrary or FaceBook , find me on TikTok, or contact me via email to share your own *Fall Thanks* Bruce Crafts and your own reading adventures! I’d love to hear what you are thankful for and what your favorite fall foods are!~*

Enjoy More Fall & Halloween Interactive Read Aloud Videos Here!

*~Until next time, Happy Reading