There are a ton of books on the market geared toward the fall season, but many of them are not quality. They lack depth. You read them once, and they are not worth reading again.
You are looking for fall-themed books--what is your goal? Enjoyment? Education? A book that opens the door for extension activities?
Here are some of the best fall books for kids that will help you hit your target.
This book is part of National Geographic's Picture the Seasons Series and is for younger readers to explore how each season affects trees in a simplistic format.
Kids are fascinated with each page and easily get lost in this book. It's a must-have for your library.
This author has penned an entire series covering all the holidays and special life events written to the poetic pattern of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. All of them are a delight!
You are looking for fall-themed books--what is your goal? Enjoyment? Education? A book that opens the door for extension activities?
Here are some of the best fall books for kids that will help you hit your target.
Educational Fall Books
How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro
Age Range: 4-8
This book might teach adults a few things! It traces the growth of an apple from bud, to flower, to fruit through all the seasons before focusing on the harvest.
It introduces vocabulary your reader probably has not encountered--sepals, stamens, pistils--and explains how male and female cells must join in fertilization through pollination for an apple to grow. Doesn't that sound a lot like a "birds and the bees" conversation? Don't worry--kids are too young to make the connection.
The book explains how bees spread the pollen while collecting nectar to complete the fertilization process. The petals finish their jobs and drop, and the apple grows.
Your young reader will be fascinated that the seeds inside the apple are actually the fertilized female cells, which could be planted to grow new apple trees.
The book explains how the tree feeds the growing apples until they can feed themselves and change to their final colors.
Apples are either picked for food, fall to the the ground for animals to eat, or rot to become part of the soil. Then, the cycle repeats.
The best part about this book is that it teaches complex scientific concepts in an easy-to-understand format.
As a teacher or parent who wants to transform this book into a deeper, educational lesson, there are so many avenues you could travel with it:
- Apple--crafts, taste testings of different colors, apple stamping, seed planting
- Trees--drawing trees for each season, photosynthesis, leaves changing colors
- Bees--how they function as pollinators, honey production
When it comes to educational books about fall, this is our favorite.
(Paid link)
A Tree for All Seasons by Robin Bernard
This book is part of National Geographic's Picture the Seasons Series and is for younger readers to explore how each season affects trees in a simplistic format.
The pictures are spectacular and engaging, which pulls the reader in to explore the text.
Newer vocabulary is written in red to introduce new concepts, like sap, leaf buds, flower tassels, and roots.
The concepts and terminology have been carefully researched so younger readers can enjoy reading this book independently. The manufacturer's recommended age if 8-12, but that is misleading. This book is more ideal for ages 3-7.
Use this book as a springboard for further exploration:
- Animal habitat
- Maple syrup production
- Birds and nests
- Parts of a tree
- Leaves changing color
(Paid link)
Fun Fall Books
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Age Range: 4-7
This book is an Amazon best seller with a five-star rating, and it's easy to see why it's phenomenally popular.
Leaf man goes wherever the wind blows, and he passes a lot of places and animals along the way. All of the illustrations are made with actual leaves, and the pages are die-cut to add to the delight.
This book not only serves to teach young minds about the fall season, but it inspires the imagination to create their own leaf people.
One great extension activity is to take your kids or students on a scavenger hunt. Collect leaves, acorns, twigs, and other pieces of nature, and encourage them to create their own leaf people with glue and construction paper.
You might end up with creations like these:
Kids are fascinated with each page and easily get lost in this book. It's a must-have for your library.
(Paid link)
There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro
Age Range: 3-5
This book is one in a series of books about an old woman who swallows a plethora of objects to create something seasonally significant at the end.
If you've read any of Colandro's books, you know they all follow the same format, and the repetition becomes obnoxious to adults, but not to kids!
Kids are thrilled by the rhythmic pattern and love being super sleuths who piece together what all the swallowed items are going to generate. In this story, the old lady swallows leaves, a shirt, pumpkin, pole, pants, rope, and hay and sneezes out a scarecrow.
It's whimsical and fun, but you can still glean learning moments from it too. Plenty of sequencing activities can be found online that are fun and educational.
(Paid link)
Educational Thanksgiving Books
Squanto and the Miracle of Thanksgiving by Eric Metaxas
Age Range: 6-9
This book is a faith-filled account of God's divine intervention that is both historical, educational, and entertaining--a stellar combination.
Squanto was sold into slavery at age 12, but raised by Christians who taught him to have faith in God. Ten years later, Squanto finds his way home, but his entire village had been wiped out by an epidemic.
The true, Thanksgiving miracle is that God orchestrated an English-speaking Indian to meet the Pilgrims just in the nick of time.
In fact, William Bradford, the governor of Plymouth, compared Squanto saving the Pilgrims from starvation to the Biblical account of Joseph who did the same thing for many people.
It's a story about how personal adversity can be used to prepare us for victorious living. Our pain isn't wasted when God is involved.
(Paid link)
The Pilgrims' First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
Age Range: 4-8
Give them chores or limit their screen time, and kids today think they have it rough.
When kids learn how Pilgrim children fared on the Mayflower, they will have their eyes opened. The story explains about the crowded conditions, unappetizing food, no toys, no room to run, not enough water for drinking and washing, no beds, and wearing the same clothes every day.
They learn how the Pilgrims built their town from scratch, with many not surviving the first winter. Their homes contained none of the luxuries we now take for granted.
There were no schools at first, so kids learned reading and writing from their parents along with good manners. Kids weren't even allowed to speak to adults until spoken to first!
Pilgrim children had to work just as hard as adults, cooking, serving, making mattresses, and tending crops.
Despite the hardships, the Pilgrims had great tenacity and learned to thrive!
When finished with this book, make a suitcase from an extra large piece of brown construction paper. On one side, staple a piece of writing paper where your kids explain what essentials they would pack in their suitcases if they had to set sail on the Mayflower. On the opposite side, have them draw and label pictures of those items.
When finished with this book, make a suitcase from an extra large piece of brown construction paper. On one side, staple a piece of writing paper where your kids explain what essentials they would pack in their suitcases if they had to set sail on the Mayflower. On the opposite side, have them draw and label pictures of those items.
(Paid link)
Fun Thanksgiving Books
Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano
Age Range: 3-7
This hilarious book is about a Turkey that doesn't want to be eaten for Thanksgiving. To trick Farmer Jake, Turkey dons several clever disguises to blend in with the other animals who don't have to worry about being a main course.
This book has kids squealing with delight from start to finish, not only with the funny disguises, but the skillful play on words.
As a follow-up activity, print off a template of a black and white outline of a turkey. Ask your kids or students to creatively disguise the turkey as something else and explain their methodology.
(Paid link)
The Night Before Thanksgiving by Natasha Wing
This author has penned an entire series covering all the holidays and special life events written to the poetic pattern of 'Twas the Night Before Christmas. All of them are a delight!
This account covers pie baking, Thanksgiving parade, family coming to town, setting up the table and chairs, playing with cousins, feasting, and leftovers.
It's a fun book to read aloud.
After the story concludes, ask your kids or students to write a paper about what Thanksgiving looks like at their houses and draw a scene to match.
(Paid link)
Fall Books Can Be Fun AND Educational for Kids
When you select any of the books above, or ones like them, you add depth to a child's literary experience. Books that spark the imagination, foster empathy, and can be expanded upon with additional crafting, writing, and scientific exploration are books your kids will not grow tired of any time soon.
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