Turk and Runt by Lisa Wheeler may well be the cutest Thanksgiving book ever. Turk is the best of the litter, destined for greatness, while Runt is continually ignored. The problem? Runt is the smart one. And he seems to be the only turkey on the farm who knows why people keep coming to admire Turk as Thanksgiving approaches. Mom and Dad think Turk is up for a football team or lead in a ballet (Swan Lake–hahaha). So while people are visiting the farm, Turk is showing off and trying to get chosen. If only they would all listen to Runt!
Your littles will have a blast finding out if Turk ever catches on to the danger he’s in. And I belly laughed at this book, so you’ll have fun, too.
Turk and Runt Activities
Language
Not only is this book a laugh riot, but it’s full of rich vocabulary that may be new to your littles. I love when picture books do that! Let your littles use this free worksheet to look up the definitions to some of the bigger words found in Turk and Runt and watch their language grow!
Science
Just how much do your kids know about turkeys? They are very interesting animals, actually; something we don’t think about too much when we’re eating them for Thanksgiving dinner. Go grab the free Let’s Learn About Turkeys printable and let your littles learn how cool turkeys really are. (We’ve raised several. They can be awesome friends.)
Craft
Your kids can make their own Turks and Runts with just a few supplies. These are really easy to make and can be used as toys or decorations. Or even puppets. So you can act out this hilarious story.
Sounds like fun to me!
Plastic Cup Turkey
What you need:
- Clear plastic cup
- 5 craft sticks
- Craft foam in brown, yellow, and red
- Apple Barrel Craft paint in Brown Oxide, Bright Red, Maroon, Antique Gold, and Harvest Orange
- Aleene’s Tacky Glue (the Quick Dry works really well for this!)
- Googly eyes
- Paintbrush
- Scissors
What you do:
- Before you do anything else, turn the cup upside down on the brown foam sheet and trace the top of it onto the foam (this will be the turkey’s face)
- Paint craft sticks (both sides)–one in each color of the paint
- Paint the INSIDE of the cup (makes for easier gluing)
- Cut out the face from the brown foam
- Cut off a corner or the yellow foam to make the beak
- Cut out a squiggly red piece for the snood. Seriously, it’s easier to just cut out a squiggle than to try to follow a template
- Glue beak, snood, and eyes in place on face
- Once all the paint is dry, choose the back side of your turkey
- Run a straight line of tacky glue down the center
- Fan out 4 more lines, 2 on each side of the center line
- Glue craft stick ‘feathers’ into place
- Turn your turkey around and glue his face on the front
I just feel like this would make a great place card, too.
Food
Okay, so it’s kind of a sugar overload. But look how cute they are! Plus, peanut butter and chocolate. Also, easy peasy. Win!
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Turkey Cookies
What you need:
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 1/2 cup margarine or butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup quick oats
- 1 12-oz pack Rolo candies
- 1 12-oz pack Brach’s autumn mix
- Seasonal-colored decorative icing (I used red)
What you do:
Make the cookies:
- Preheat oven to 350F
- Cream together shortening, margarine or butter, sugars, and peanut butter until smooth
- Beat eggs in one at a time
- In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, and salt
- Add flour mixture to creamed mixture
- Stir in oats until just combined
- Drop by teaspoonfuls on an ungreased cookie sheet
- Bake 11-12 minutes (you’re going to want them to be chewy, so don’t overbake them)
Assemble the turkeys:
- Separate the brown- and yellow-tipped candy corns
- Put a line of icing near the edge of one cookie, then stand another cookie upright on the icing, pressing down gently to get it to hold
- Put a smudge of icing on the back of one brown-tipped candy corn and place point-down near top of upright cookie
- Repeat for 2 more brown-tipped candy corns and angle them to either side of the center candy
- Put a smudge of icing on the bottom of a Rolo and put it near the front of the bottom cookie
- Put a smudge of icing on the back of a yellow-tipped candy corn and place it atop the Rolo with the point facing away from the upright cookie
- Repeat all steps for remaining turkeys
I love Thanksgiving because of its coziness, and there’s nothing better than cuddling up with a little and reading a good book. I am not making it up when I say that Turk and Runt is one of the funnies Thanksgiving books I’ve ever read. And with all these activities to enjoy? How can you resist?
Love wins,
KT
Looking for more Thanksgiving fun? Check out:
Story Time: ‘Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving
Story Time: Cranberry Thanksgiving
Dinner and a Movie: Squanto-A Warrior’s Tale
The Ultimate List of Autumn Books for Kids
KT Brison
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