Please welcome my friend and children’s book author, Kathleen Choi, with her list of 6 Picture Books About Gratitude, Culture, and Intergenerational Connection. I went to college with her husband and met her during a class reunion. She also lived in Newton, MA, though we never ran into each other at the grocery store!
We are giving away 10 signed and inscribed copies of her latest picture book, Giving Thanks with Halmoni: the Korean Harvest Festival. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter at the bottom.
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🥟 Gratitude, tradition, and connection are themes that speak across cultures and across generations. The books in this list help children explore what it means to give thanks, honor where we come from, and celebrate the people who shape our lives. Whether through holidays, small acts of kindness, or family stories passed down over time, these picture books offer joyful and thoughtful ways to reflect on what we hold dear.
6 Picture Books About Gratitude, Culture, and Intergenerational Connection
Giving Thanks with Halmoni: the Korean Harvest Festival by Kathleen Choi & Sook Nyul Choi, illustrated by Il Sung Na
It’s almost time for Chuseok (often called Korean Thanksgiving), and Su-Jin worries that her grandmother, Halmoni, will feel homesick during her first Chuseok away from Korea. So, Su-Jin and her friends decide to ask Halmoni to help them learn about the holiday and plan a celebration. This book is a warm introduction to Korean culture, with beautiful illustrations, cultural depth, and a message of love and intergenerational connection. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Two-List Thanksgiving by Christine Whan, illustrated by Sienna Youngsun Kim
A Korean-American girl creates two grocery lists—one for the local store, and one for the Korean market—to help her family prep for Thanksgiving. This story celebrates the blending of traditions and the flavors that bring people together. We love how it shows that gratitude can come in many forms—and flavors! [picture book, ages 4 and up]
Thank You, Omu! by Oge Mora
Omu makes a delicious Nigerian stew and shares it with her neighbors, only to discover there’s nothing left for her. But in a beautiful twist, her community returns to show their appreciation. This story is all about generosity, food, community, appreciation, and coming together in celebration. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
A Morning with Grandpa by Sylvia Liu, illustrated by Christina Forshay
Mei Mei learns tai chi from her grandfather, and Mei Mei teaches her grandfather yoga! This book is a wonderful book about an intergenerational relationship where both the granddaughter and grandfather are sharing and learning from each other, and readers can learn some tai chi and yoga moves to get the day going! [picture book, ages 3 and up]
Our Table by Peter H. Reynolds
In this book, a family is drifting apart— but food, conversation, and working together to build a table help bring them back together in celebration. The story is a subtle reminder of the power of appreciating each other’s strengths and interests and the power of collaboration to bring people closer. [picture book, ages 4 and up]
We Are Grateful: Otsaliheliga by Traci Sorell, illustrated by Frané Lessac
Not just once a year, but throughout the seasons of the year, Cherokees express their gratitude in this beautiful picture book that introduces readers to Cherokee culture. [picture book, ages 3 and up]
10 Signed/Inscribed Copies of Giving Thanks with Halmoni: the Korean Harvest Festival GIVEAWAY!
We are giving away 10 signed and inscribed copies of her latest picture book, Giving Thanks with Halmoni: the Korean Harvest Festival. To enter, please fill out the Rafflecopter below.
Congrats to Jessica, Danielle, Beth, and Jennifer. You won a signed copy of Giving Thanks with Halmoni.
Kathleen Choi & Sook Nyul Choi are a mother-daughter writing team that has worked collaboratively on several picture books including Halmoni and the Picnic, Yunmi and Halmoni’s Trip, and The Best Older Sister.
Sook Nyul Choi is also the author of the award-winning, young adult trilogy Year of Impossible Goodbyes, Echoes of the White Giraffe, and Gathering of Pearls. In this semi-autobiographical trilogy, Sook Nyul Choi draws deeply from her personal experiences growing up in northern Korea during the Japanese Occupation, her dramatic escape to South Korea, her life as a refugee during the Korean War, and her immigration to the United States.
Kathleen Choi is a writer and editor. Her first job as a child actress on Sesame Street sparked a lifelong interest in education. She is currently a writer and managing editor of District Management Journal, a journal on education management. She is also a founding member and board member of FitMoney, a non-profit providing free, unbiased financial literacy education. Born and raised in New York City, Kathleen is a proud Korean American, passionate about keeping alive Korean traditions and celebrating Korean culture with her two daughters, husband, family, and friends.
Il Sung Na is an author-illustrator of many books for children, including A Book of Sleep: Bird, Balloon, Bear; That’s My Carrot, and A Book of Babies. Na is also the illustrator of Beautiful Noise, The Music of John Cage, written by Lisa Rogers. Il Sung Na studied illustration at Kingston University in London, and now lives in Kansas City, where he teaches illustration at the Art Institute.
p.s. Related posts:
69 Great #OwnVoices Korean American Books for Kids and Teens
7 Picture Books to Celebrate the Moon and the Mid-Autumn Festival
Durga Puja and the Festivals of India
114 Asian Pacific American Children’s and YA Books
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My books:
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
The Traveling Taco:
- Reading Rockets’ Summer Reading Guide 2025
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
We Sing from the Heart: How the Slants® Took Their Fight for Free Speech to the Supreme Court
- ALSC Notable Children’s Book
- 2025 Carter G. Woodson Book Award Middle Level Honoree
- Orbis Pictus Recommended Book for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children
- 2024 Julia Ward Howe Prize for Children’s Literature Winner
- California Eureka Non-Fiction Award Honor Book
- Notable Social Studies Trade Books for Young People Winner (from National Council for the Social Studies and Children’s Book Council)
- Bank Street Best Children’s Books of the Year 2025
- Junior Library Guild Gold Selection
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- ⭐ Starred review from School Library Journal!
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Massachusetts Book Award Long List
- dPICTUS 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023
- Chicago Library’s Best of the Best
- 2023 INDIES Book of the Year Awards Finalist
- Green Earth Book Award Long List
- Nautilus Silver Winner, Nonfiction Children’s Picture Book
- Sunshine State Young Readers Award Orange Blossom List for Nonfiction
- Imagination Soup’s 35 Best Nonfiction Books of 2023 for Kids
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Bank Street College’s The Best Children’s Books of the Year
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Signed or Inscribed by Me
What a great collection of books! One of my favorite books about food is Too Many Tamales by Gary Soto.
There are so many fun ones! Of course, The Traveling Taco. 🙂 And Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs. Can’t forget If You Give A Pig A Pancake. I could go on and on…
Today’s list is wonderful. I want to read each of them, and hug them. Growing up, our next-door-neighbors, and my brother’s closest friends were Korean immigrants–strong, kind, loving, brave people who made our lives better in so many ways I can’t even count them. I wish we had known about Halmoni, so we could have celebrated that with them.
I enjoy The Traveling Taco and Tofu Takes Time.
This is a great list! I’m really excited for Giving Thanks With Halmoni and for Two-List Thanksgiving!