A Dead Rat for Thanksgiving? explores how family traditions and lore are passed down from generation to generation, while also providing one big surprise for readers. Wonderfully written and illustrated by Angela Childs, a former art and music teacher with a heart for children, A Dead Rat for Thanksgiving? tells the story of a big family Thanksgiving celebration, where the older relatives tell stories of where they came from and how their family traditions were born and how they developed. The youngsters are the stars of the after-dinner show, displaying their talents of song, dance, joke telling, and poem recitation. All the while, Grandma and her granddaughter try to ignore what they had found the day before in one of the boxes where Grandma had stored her fine crystal. Coming back to the same box the day after Thanksgiving, they are treated to a big surprise. Childs hopes that by reading this story, children will think about their family history and customs, and share them with others. "Always know that no matter where you came from, you can always go somewhere; just use your imagination," she says.