Turk and Runt: A Thanksgiving Comedy by Lisa Wheeler

Turk and Runt: A Thanksgiving Comedy by Lisa Wheeler, illustrated by Frank Ansley

Rating: 4.5 stars

This is one of the funniest children's books I have ever read!  I found myself chuckling out loud at the line ahead of the one I was reading to Lorelei and Ben.  The thing is, I think this might be a 4-year old minimum, because you have to at least understand that the turkey you eat on Thanksgiving is the same turkey that says gobble, gobble at the zoo.  I'm not sure Lorelei gets that, and I know Ben doesn't, and I'm fine with not pointing that out today.  Maybe tomorrow. 

But if your kids DO know that turkeys are animals and we gobble them up (unless you're a vegetarian, which this book might make your kids), then they would find this book hilarious!  Turk and Runt are two brothers in a turkey family.  Turk is the prized brother--big, muscly, fast, gorgeous, and ignorant of the fact that he might become some one's dinner.  Runt is the forgotten brother--little, scrawny, ugly, and aware of the fact that his brother is in high demand.  Turk is determined to be selected by each family who drives up to the farm, and his parents naively parade him around and show him off.  Runt pulls of stunts to make Turk look undesirable and inedible, successfully saving him from becoming some one's meal.  But at the end a scrawny old lady looks for a scrawny little chicken--Runt!  Turk finally clues in to the dangers of Thanksgiving and saves his little brother.  The book ends with Christmas season--people pulling into the farm looking for turkeys for that holiday meal find four snow-turkeys, safe under their cold disguise.

I'm not doing this book justice.  Check it out and see for yourself--and tell me what age of kids laughs the loudest!