It’s fall, y’all! I always get excited about this particular season change—drawing pictures of pumpkins on our dry-erase calendar, making substitutions in my closet (hello, boots!), and even deviating from my usual Starbucks order. My kids, on the other hand, hardly seem to notice.
I get it. Children have an abstract sense of time and take each day as it comes—a beautiful quality in so many ways. And it’s not like they don’t understand that the next few months are going to be awesome. My son is telling everyone he meets that October means pumpkin patches and Halloween. I’m excited for those things too. But what about the leaves? What about the crisp autumn air? I know that Fort Worth is no Vermont, but I’m determined to impart some sense of wonder and appreciation for nature.
To help me in my mission, I enlisted the help of Shelley Lowe, owner of the local children’s bookstore Monkey and Dog Books. If you have never been to her store, you owe it to yourself and your children to check it out. Nestled in a corner of Feastivities, Monkey and Dog Books has the most charming collection of children’s literature in town and a wonderful story time on Wednesday mornings at 10:30 a.m.
This is not the first time I have asked Mrs. Lowe for help. Several months ago, when I got sick and lost my voice, I drove my children to Monkey and Dog Books, and she read to them because I could not. Such a wonderful lady and business. Anyway, she was kind enough to show me several books about fall, and I can’t wait to start reading them to my littles. Here are the titles if you’d like to do the same.
Leaves by David Ezra. This board book is perfect for even the youngest readers. In Leaves, a bear cub worries when he sees the leaves falling out of the trees but awakes in springtime to find the world even more alive than he left it. Beautiful illustrations and simple storytelling make this book a winner (and my one-year-old daughter’s new favorite).
Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson. The story of this book is similar to Leaves—a young fox is concerned when the leaves begin to fall off the trees and cannot be reattached—but it is well suited to slightly older readers (preschool-2nd grade) and ends with an appreciation for the beauty of icy winter branches rather than springtime buds. It is another beautiful book, with illustrations that look like watercolors.
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert. This picture book uses images of actual autumn leaves to tell its story of a leaf man blowing around in autumn. The leaves are arranged to depict the things that Leaf Man encounters—animals, crops, etc.—making it a perfect book for encouraging home art projects.
The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger. Tackling fear of the unknown in the sweetest possible way, this book tells the story of a little yellow leaf who does not feel ready to fall. Eventually, placing his trust in a scarlet-colored leaf who offers encouragement, the little yellow leaf lets go and dances in the wind with his friend. It is tender, lovely, and a useful metaphor to relay to cautious little ones.
The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree/The Reasons for Seasons/The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons. Using bold illustrations and simple text, Gail Gibbons provides factual explanations of seasonal change and all that surrounds it. These books are informative without being hyper-technical, and Monkey and Dog Books recommends them highly!
What fall books do you recommend?
