Book Spotlight: Instilling Gratitude with 'Thankful' by Elaine Vickers
Discover why Thankful by Elaine Vickers is a cornerstone for creating beautiful family traditions and a favorite for teaching kids about the power of gratitude.
Book cover of Thankful by Elaine Vickers
Reading Thankful by Elaine Vickers
Love is my antidote to fear, and gratitude a key to unlocking it. For years, I’ve had an almost-daily text thread with three girlfriends where we all send the top eight things we are grateful for each day. It’s been a gift to lean on when the world is loud and when we are navigating the highs and lows of our lives. And I hope that passing on nervous system regulation tools to my kids—the very same tools that took me decades to develop—will have a domino effect on the world around them.
The journey to building these tools for my own family began in a tiny little book that has been in my top five favorite children’s books since the day I found it.
A Timeless Story Inspiring a Family Tradition
Thankful by Elaine Vickers is a perfectly poetic story that adds an extra cozy layer to our home, especially during the fall season. Every November 1st, we open this beautiful book and let its gentle words inspire our favorite annual tradition: creating a gratitude chain. For a full month, we add a new link to our chain every day, filled with the things we are grateful for. This practice, born from the book, has created some of our calmest and most cuddly family moments. It's a sweet, quiet reminder of all the blessings we have, and it helps us focus on what's truly important.
Ready to start your own gratitude tradition?
You've discovered the power of a simple book and a beautiful family practice. Now, let’s find more ways to make your holidays and everyday moments special. Check out our Thanksgiving Books for Kids to find more stories that will help you cultivate an attitude of thanks.