There’s a lot to be grateful for and love about fall – colorful trees, beautiful weather, sweet potato pie, pumpkins, apple picking, and great children's books that celebrate all of it. We've rounded up a few fun and diverse children's books that highlight many of things we love about fall.
For your convenience, we've included publisher's descriptions along with each book.
Amara searches for pumpkins on her farm in this vibrant exploration of gardening and healthy eating, from the Where in the Garden? series.
Amara is hosting a potluck for friends on her farm, and she needs help finding her pumpkins to serve a tasty dish. What do we know about pumpkins? They're large, round, and orange--and, wait a minute, is that a pumpkin? No, that's an apple. Where, oh, where could those pumpkins be? Can you help Amara find them in time for her potluck?
The first title in the Where in the Garden? picture book series stars Amara, a young Black girl who explores the crops growing on her family's intergenerational farm. Playful text guides young readers to hunt for visual clues and compare and contrast the unique characteristics of pumpkins against okra, cauliflower, eggplant, and other produce that grows on Amara's farm.
Artist Samara Hardy brings this multi-layered story to life with vivid, cheerful illustrations created from layers of hand painted ink and watercolor texture. Back matter includes a yummy molasses pumpkin bread recipe for little chefs and their adult helpers to try together.
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Caldecott Honor winner Grace Lin celebrates math for every kid, everywhere!
Manny, Olivia, and Mei go apple picking and sort their red, green, and yellow apples by color. But then they find an apple that's all three colors. What should they do? A playful exploration of sorting, classifying, and friendship.
Storytelling Math celebrates children using math in their daily adventures as they play, build, and discover the world around them. Joyful stories and hands-on activities make it easy for kids and their grown-ups to explore everyday math together. Developed in collaboration with math experts at STEM education nonprofit TERC, under a grant from the Heising-Simons Foundation.
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As trees sway in the cool breeze, blue jays head south, and leaves change their colors, everyone knows--autumn is on its way!
Join a young girl as she takes a walk-through forest and town, greeting all the signs of the coming season. In a series of conversations with every flower and creature and gust of wind, she says good-bye to summer and welcomes autumn.
Crisp air and gray skies beckon a little girl to thoroughly investigate the outside world: chipmunks, squirrels, insects, and fallen leaves all hint that a change of season is coming.
Young readers can explore the signs of autumn along with the adventurous child narrator in this charming conclusion to Wong Herbert Yee's series on the seasons (Tracks in the Snow, Who Likes Rain? and Summer Days and Nights).
You might also enjoy: Multicultural Celebrations: 9 Diverse Children's Books to Get Excited about this Holiday Season
Explore harvest festivals from around the globe! Lyrical, rhyming text and lush, detailed artwork from Italian artist Martina Peluso immerse young readers in some of the most ancient traditions in the world.
Nine pages of rich, educational endnotes dive deep with more information about the 12 cultures explored in the book and invite young readers to ask questions about food and the labor that produces it.
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This simple, young, and satisfying story follows a Chinese American family as they celebrate the Mid-Autumn Moon Festival.
Each member of the family lends a hand as they prepare a moonlit picnic with mooncakes, pomelos, cups of tea, and colorful lanterns. And everyone sends thanks and a secret wish up to the moon.
Grace Lin's luminous and gloriously patterned artwork is perfect for this holiday tale. Her story is simple--tailor-made for reading aloud to young children. And she includes an informative author's note with further details on the customs and traditions of the Moon Festival for parents and teachers. The Moon Festival is one of the most important holidays of the year along with the Lunar New Year, so this book makes an excellent companion to Grace Lin's Bringing In the New Year, which features the same family.
A unique blend of traditional folklore and contemporary customs brings the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival to life.
Two sisters and their grandmother celebrate a popular Chinese holiday with family. Their favorite part? Mooncakes, of course--along with Ah-ma's story of the ancient Chinese tale of Hou Yi, a brave young archer, and his wife, Chang'E. A long, long time ago, Hou Yi rescued the earth from the heat of ten suns. The Immortals rewarded him with a magic potion that could let him live in the sky with them forever. But when a thief tries to steal the potion, what will Chang'E do to keep it out of dangerous hands? The sisters are mesmerized by Ah-ma's retelling and the fact that the very mooncakes they enjoy each holiday are a symbol of this legend's bravest soul.
Like other enslaved African American children, young Harriet Tubman had to work hard.
In her master's orchard, she spent long hours picking the juicy apples she was forbidden to eat. Harriet vowed to one day be free and to grow apple trees of her own.
When she was grown, she made her escape to the North. Then, repeatedly risking her life, she returned to lead many other African Americans to freedom.
The Cherokee community is grateful for blessings and challenges that each season brings. This is modern Native American life as told by an enrolled citizen of the Cherokee Nation.
The word otsaliheliga (oh-jah-LEE-hay-lee-gah) is used by members of the Cherokee Nation to express gratitude. Beginning in the fall with the new year and ending in summer, follow a full Cherokee year of celebrations and experiences.
Written by a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, this look at one group of Native Americans is appended with a glossary and the complete Cherokee syllabary, originally created by Sequoyah.
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Two sisters have waited all spring and summer to pick berries with their ningiuq, their grandmother.
They've gone fishing, dug for clams, and by the time late summer arrives, it's finally time for berries!
Ninguiq and the girls head out to pick berries, rain or shine--nothing will stop Ningiuq! Through driving rain and early autumn snow the girls and Ningiuq pick as many sweet berries as their buckets can hold. The hard work is all worth it to enjoy the delicious treats Ninguiq creates with her berries.
Autumn is in the air: days grow shorter, and nights are long. Birds leave, flowers, too. Apples and temperatures fall--then snow!
Part poem, part silent stage, this luminous picture book puts autumn on display and captures the spirit of change that stays with us long after fall leaves. Unlock the secrets of this busy and beautiful time of year as the natural world makes way for winter.
FIND IT HERE: BOOKSHOP
Looking for more great read aloud ideas? Visit these fabulous book lists:
VIDEO READ ALONG
Grace Lin explains a little bit about the Chinese Moon Festival and reads her picture book, "Thanking the Moon."
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