Fall is upon us! The air is cooler. The days are shorter. And what a better way to usher in the season than to curl up and enjoy some great fall books. Here’s a list of ten childrens’ books that I have found that help us appreciate this time of year. Hopefully these books will spark you and your family excitement about this season of harvest. I was able to find most of these books in our local library. I’ve also linked them to amazon.com for those of you who prefer to purchase them.

Pumpkin Circle by George Levenson

I love the layout of the photographs in this book. They are bright and just beautiful. In addition to the great descriptions, this book is excellent on learning the life cycle of pumpkins. I highly recommend it.

How Many Seeds in a pumpkin? By Margaret McNamara

A great book not only on pumpkins, but for introducing different ways of counting. This book is about a little boy who really disliked being the last one in line because his teacher, Mr. Tiffin, always makes his students line up by size. One day, Mr. Tiffin brought in three pumpkins and asked his students to estimate the number of seeds in each pumpkin. Everyone thought Charlie’s smallest pumpkin would have the least number of seeds.  But to everyone’s surprise, the smallest pumpkin had more seeds than its bigger counterparts. As a result, Charlie learned that it’s okay to be small. I love the diversity of the students presented in this book. Among them, six were girls and four were boys. They seemed to be ethnically balanced. Very fun illustrations as well.

The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

This book is great for Christian families that wish to bring the Christian perspective to Halloween.  While it’s written for children with pictures, this book creatively presents a Christian message. For this reason, it’s a story for any age. The book tells of a farmer who turns a pumpkin into a glorious sight. In the same way, God can turn us into a new creature, full of light, shining for Him.

The seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

A great book to illustrate the changes in an apple tree during the four seasons. Arnold takes the readers through the seasons and shows the types of activities he does with his tree. An excellent book for your apple or season unit.

The very best pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton

This story is about a boy, Peter who lived with his grandparents, Mimi and Papa on a farm. One day, Peter discovered one little pumpkin that was all alone among the weeds. Every day, Peter took great care of this puny little pumpkin. Then there was Meg, a new neighbor who had been watching Peter tending to his lonely pumpkin. This is a sweet story of patience, friendship and sharing. Pictures in this book are brightly colored and fun to look at. We also love the to-grow-your-own-very-best-pumpkin guide at the end of the book. My kids wanted to grow their own pumpkins next year so guess we’ll be revisiting this book again next spring.

Leaf jumpers by Carole Gerber

Wonderful book to teach children about fall leaves. The illustrations are outstanding with great descriptions of different types of leaves. My kids smiled when they heard what the children did with the leaves in the book. It reminded them of some of the things they did with the leaves too. It also inspired my kids to learn the different trees: birch, willow, basswood, etc. In the back of the book, the author provided some facts for further learning of leaves. Overall, this is a great book for your fall book basket!

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

This book has lots of beautiful pictures of fall leaves. It portrays leaves as a man, traveling where the wind takes him. Throughout the story, as a result of the wind, different leaves come together creating different animals. My big boy who loves making things took to this book. He’s really looking forward to collecting various leaves and making his rendition of leaf animals. Great companion for leaf art projects.

Turkey Trouble by Wendi Silvano

A friend gave us this book as a gift and it’s one of my kids’ favorites. The excellent wording and silly pictures will make your kids and adults giggle and laugh. Turkey doesn’t want to be the Thanksgiving meal, so he tries to disguise himself. Turkey is happy in the end as the family enjoys an unusual Thanksgiving dinner. A fun book!

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington

Apple Farmer Annie has an orchard full of apples. From applesauce, to apple muffins, to selling her harvest at the farmers’ market, Farmer Annie shows us what she did with her apples. A simple and straight forward book with colorful pictures.

Applesauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson

The family celebrates this season by working together to make the first batch of applesauce. Excellent, detailed descriptions of how the applesauce was made and the team work of the entire family help us visualize this delightful story. A great story for apple season.

What are some of your favorite children’s fall books? I’d love to hear what you and your kids are reading. Please share in the comments.