The Fall season is here! Autumn is one of my favorite times of the year. I grew up in Puerto Rico, a Caribbean island where there is no Fall season. I moved to Germany when I was 23 years old and experienced Fall for the first time there. Autumn is enchanting in Germany, so I fell in love with the colors of the trees, the cozy weather, the adorable squirrels running around collecting nuts, and the stylish clothes.
One of my favorite activities was picking children’s books about the Fall season for my daughters and reading them together. Below you will find a list of picture books perfect for introducing children to this beautiful season. Parents, educators, and librarians, do not forget your tea or coffee, and enjoy!
The Leaf Thief: (The Perfect Fall Book for Children and Toddlers) by Alice Hemming
Squirrel is going nuts! Someone is stealing his leaves, or so he thinks. He questions poor Bird every day about his missing leaves and the possible Leaf Thief. Bird’s patience runs dry, so he shows Squirrel the identity of the infamous Leaf Thief.
Author: Alice Hemming
Writing Style: hilarious, easy
Illustrator: Nicola Slater
Illustrations: funny, expressive, anthropomorphic,
Themes: Autumn, Fall, leaves, wind
Publishing Year: 2021
Publisher: Sourcebooks
Ages: 4 – 8
Lexile: 450L
A girl and her grandmother enjoy the beginning of Autumn by drinking tea, wearing cozy scarves, and dancing like a leaf. As the season progresses, the grandmother’s health deteriorates. The girl takes good care of her grandmother and comes up with a new activity to entertain her while she rests. When December comes, the grandmother’s bed is empty. After time passes, the girl enjoys Autumn again as her grandmother taught her.
Author: AJ Irving
Writing Style: poetic, sad, reflective
Illustrator: Claudia Navarro
Illustrations: vibrant Fall colors, acrylic paintings, sad, cozy
Themes: Autumn, Fall, loss, seasons of life, grief
Publishing Year: 2020
Publisher: Barefoot Books
Ages: 4 – 8
Lexile: Not Yet Rated
Leif is an oak leaf that is worried about the coming Autumn season. Leif does not want to fall. The other leaves cannot understand him as “all leaves fall in the fall.” But his friend Laurel offers her help. Leif and Laurel come up with several plans to prevent falling from the tree. Their ingenious methods include a net, a kite, and a trampoline. When Autumn arrives, and Leif finally falls, his pile of discarded ideas gives him a pleasant surprise.
Authors: Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant
Writing Style: intelligent, growth mindset, easy to comprehend
Illustrator: Merrilee Liddiard
Illustrations: mixed-media that includes photo-collage images, light green and brown tones, white space, anthropomorphic
Themes: Autumn, Fall, ideas, creativity, determination, using resources, fear of failure, experiments
Publishing Year: 2020
Publisher: Dial Books for Young Readers
Ages: 4 – 8
Lexile: Not Yet Rated
Squirrel is the fastest animal in the forest, and she has won the Golden Acorn race for the past eight years. The rules changed this year. All competitors must be part of a team. Squirrel is not happy about it, but her friends want to be on her team. Squirrel ends up leaving her slower friends behind during the race. When she finds the Golden Acorn, the biggest she has seen, she learns a lesson on teamwork and friendship.
Author: Katy Hudson
Writing Style: amusing, charming
Illustrator: Katy Hudson
Illustrations: anthropomorphic, detailed, colorful fall palette, watercolor and ink, eye-catching, funny, cute
Themes: Autumn, teamwork, friendship, competition, forest animals, forgiveness
Publishing Year: 2019
Publisher: Capstone Editions
Ages: 4 – 8
Lexile: 590L
Two little squirrels inadvertently find the same pile of nuts. The problem is both claim the nuts as theirs. Other forest animals intervene, trying to make the squirrels share. The admirable attempt is unsuccessful, as the two little squirrels do not want to share. Will they learn to share?
Author: Lou Peacock
Writing Style: minimalistic, exclamative
Illustrator: Yasmeen Ismail
Illustrations: anthropomorphic, mixed-media, pretty
Themes: Autumn, nuts, squirrels, learning to share, friendship
Publishing Year: 2019
Publisher: Nosy Crow
Ages: 0 – 5
Lexile: Not Yet Rated
After tripping over a broom, Ed is in a bad mood. It is a bad mood that feels like a storm rather than one that passes quickly. Ed’s bad mood gives him a bad idea. Instead of only sweeping Autumn leaves, he sweeps everything on his path through town—animals, people, cars, bikes, buses. Many wonderful things around him could improve his mood, but he ignores them. Eventually, the wind blows something his way that lifts his mood higher and higher. The next time a bad mood takes over him, Ed might think twice about his actions.
Author: Louise Greig
Writing Style: rhythmic, reflective
Illustrator: Júlia Sardá
Illustrations: digital, fall palette, whimsical
Themes: Autumn, bad mood, managing strong emotions
Publishing Year: 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Ages: 4 – 8
Lexile: 560L
Yellow time is on its way. It comes once a year. The smell of the air is different. The wind blows. “Everywhere fills with yellow. A symphony of yellow.” Children have fun outside in yellow time. Yellow leaves pile everywhere, and black crows praise yellow time. Children gather yellows leaves to remember how delightful yellow time was.
Author: Lauren Stringer
Writing Style: poetic, whimsical, playful, blissful
Illustrator: Lauren Stringer
Illustrations: watercolor, acrylic, yellow tones, expressive, diverse
Themes: Autumn, Fall, fun, outdoors, seasonal changes
Publishing Year: 2016
Publisher: Beach Lane Books
Ages: 4 – 8
Lexile: 580L
When Fall arrives, it is time for school. Leaves change colors and fall, squirrels storage food, kids pick pumpkins, among other beautiful things. Children, especially preschoolers, discover the magic of Fall inside the ten gatefolds of Hocus Pocus, It’s Fall! Anne Sibley O’Brien’s rhymes are exciting and straightforward, and Susan Gal’s charcoal and collage illustrations capture the vibrancy and wonder of Fall.
Publishing Year: 2016
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Ages: 0 – 8
Lexile: Not Yet Rated
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