Every morning, my girls and I sit down together and read stories. Like any home educator, there’s usually a huge pile of seasonal literature on hold for me at the library (and an equally huge amount of late fines that I need to pay!). With each new season that passes, we discover more amazing books to read.

Because we love books so much, I’ve decided to compile a massive list of autumn-themed read-alouds. Some of these are ones we’ve read once, some are ones we’ve read over and over (and over!) again, and a few are books that are still on my wishlist. I’ve divided them up by theme (apples, pumpkins, festivals, etc.).

So without further ado, here is my list of over 100 autumn-themed storybooks:

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Apples

• Amelia Bedelia’s First Apple Pie by Herman Parish
• An Apple Pie for Dinner by Susan VanHecke
• Apple Cider Making Days by Ann Purmell
• Apple Sauce Season by Eden Ross Lipson
• Curious George Apple Harvest by H.A. Rey
• Fancy Nancy Apples Galore! by Jane O’Connor
• How Do Apples Grow? by Betsy Maestro
• One Red Apple by Harriet Ziefert
• The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

Our favourites:

• Apple Picking Time by Michele Benoit Slawson – This book is the sweet story of a girl who gets up early with her family to pick apples at a nearby farm. It’s one of our absolute favourite storybooks.
• Apples by Gail Gibbons – This nonfiction book teaches children about the different types of apples. My children love this book.
• How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman – This book should be on everyone’s shelf. What do you do when you want an apple pie but the market is closed? You travel the world to gather the perfect ingredients and then you bake the perfect pie. You can view our literature study and activities here.

On our wishlist:

• Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington – After taking a trip to an apple farm this year, I’m really excited to read this story about an apple farmer to my girls. I was especially happy when I read that there are recipes included. I have a feeling that my middle daughter is going to love this one!

 

Back to School

• Amelia Bedelia’s First Day of School by Herman Parish
• Fall is for School by Robert Neubecker
• Off to Kindergarten by Tony Johnston

Our favourites:

• Hands as Warm as Toast by Lisa Himle – This story is the absolute sweetest! When Libby doesn’t want to leave her mother’s side on the first day of kindergarten, her teacher gives her a very special job.
• Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn – This is a beautiful story to help children deal with separation anxiety. 

On our wishlist:

• The Apple Doll by Elisa Kleven

 

Fall Fairs and Festivals

• County Fair by Laura Ingalls Wilder
• Daniel’s Duck by Clyde Robert Bulla
• The Berenstain Bears’ Harvest Festival by Mike Berenstain
• The Fall Festival by Mercer Mayer

These are all our favourites! Who doesn’t love Laura Ingalls? And Daniel’s Duck always makes me choke up for some reason. My girls adore anything Berenstain Bears and Little Critter, so those last two are a huge hit in our house!

 

Harvest Moon

• By the Light of the Harvest Moon by Harriet Ziefert
• Hello, Harvest Moon by Ralph Fletcher and Kate Kiesler
• Possum’s Harvest Moon by Ann Hunter

These three books are on my wishlist. I discovered the first book on my local library’s website. I loved the description and the reviews and promptly put a hold on it, I can’t wait until it’s my turn to borrow it! The latter two were recommended in our Exploring Nature with Children science curriculum (which, by the way, is an amazing nature study curriculum!). I plan on slipping them into next year’s curriculum budget.

 

Johnny Appleseed

• Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd
• Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh
• Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg
• Johnny Appleseed: My Story by David L. Harrison
• Johnny Appleseed: The Story of a Legend by Will Moses
• My Little Golden Book about Johnny Appleseed by Lori Haskins Houran
• Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of Johnny Appleseed Chapman by Esme Raji Codell
• The True Tale of Johnny Appleseed by Margaret Hodges

Can I be totally honest? I had actually never heard about Johnny Appleseed until my daughter taught me about him this year! Fellow Canadians, am I the only one? My daughter had read a couple of these books, and after hearing about them, my interest was piqued. We plan on learning about this American folk hero next year. I can’t wait to share our unit study resources next fall.

 

Leaves

• Autumn Leaves by Ken Robbins
• Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland
• Fall Leaves by Mary Packard
• Fancy Nancy and the Fall Foliage by Jane O’Connor
• Leaf Jumpers by Carole Gerber
• Leaves Fall Down by Lisa Bullard
• Look What I Did with a Leaf! by Morteza E. Sohi
• My Leaf Book by Monica Wellington
• The Leaves on the Trees by Thom Wiley
• There was an Old Lady who Swallowed Some Leaves by Lucille Colandro
• We’re Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger
• Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer

Our favourite:

• Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson – We love Fletcher the Fox! His antics have my girls giggling every time we read this book. 

On our wishlist:

• Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

 

Math

• Counting on Fall by Lizann Flatt (counting)
• Pete the Cat Five Little Pumpkins by James Dean (counting)
• Pick a Circle, Gather Squares by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky (shapes)
• Ten Fat Turkeys by Tony Johnston (counting backwards)
• Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins (counting backwards)
• Zero is the Leaves on the Tree by Betsy Franco (the concept of zero)

Our favourite:

• Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss – This was one of my favourite books when I was young, and I’m so happy to see that it’s one of my preschooler’s favourites as well. 

On our wishlist:

• How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara – This book looks like an amazing way to reinforce skip counting and estimation! I absolutely love math storybooks.

 

Pumpkins

• From Seed to Pumpkin by Wendy Pfeffer
• It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown! by by Justine Korman
• Oh My, Pumpkin Pie! by Charles Ghigna
• Peter Rabbit and the Pumpkin Patch by Beatrix Potter
• Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin, Pie by Jill Esbaum
• Splat the Cat and the Pumpkin Picking Plan by Rob Scotton
• The Berenstain Bears and the Prize Pumpkin by Stan and Jan Berenstain
• The Biggest Pumpkin Ever by Steven Kroll
• The Littlest Pumpkin by R.A. Herman
• The Poky Little Puppy and the Pumpkin Patch by Diane Muldrow
• The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
• The Roll-Away Pumpkin by Junia Wonders and Daniela Volpari
• The Very Best Pumpkin by Mark Kimball Moulton
• Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White

Our favourites:

• Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor – Because who doesn’t love Tasha Tudor? This story has such lovely illustrations!
• Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper – This is a fantastic story about teamwork!

On our wishlist:

• Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbel

 

Seasonal Changes

• I Know it’s Autumn by Eileen Spinelli
• In November by Cynthia Rylant
• In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes
• Little Frog and the Scary Autumn Thing by Jane Yolen
• Mouse’s First Fall by Lauren Thompson
• Wonderfall by Michael Hall

Our favourite:

• Good-bye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak – I love Kenard Pak’s books! The illustrations are simply stunning. After taking this out of the library last year, I had to go and purchase my own copy so we could look through it again and again.

 

Thanksgiving

• A Very Thankful Prayer by Bonnie Rickner Jensen
• God Gave Us Thankful Hearts by Lisa Tawn Bergen
• If You Were at the First Thanksgiving by Anne Kamma
• Squanto, Friend of the Pilgrims by Clyde Robert Bulla
• Thanksgiving Day at Our House: Thanksgiving Poems for the Very Young by Nancy White Carlstrom
• Thanks for Thanksgiving by Julie Marker
• Thanks for Thanksgiving by Heather Patterson and Mary Jane Gerber
• The Berenstain Bears Thanksgiving Blessings by Mike Berenstain
• The First Thanksgiving by Linda Hayward
• The Pilgrims First Thanksgiving by Ann McGovern
• The Thanksgiving Story by Alice Dagliesh

Our favourite:

• Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin – This is one of those books that everyone should own. It’s the most amazing story about not judging people by their outward appearance. We first read it several years ago, and made beautiful memories doing activities related to the book. You can read all about it here.

 

Other Goodies

• Apples and Pumpkins by Anne F. Rockwell
• Dappled Apples by Jan Carr
• Bella’s Fall Coat by Lynn Plourde
• Hello, Fall! By Deborah Diesen
• P is for Pumpkin by Kathy-Jo Wargin
• Red are the Apples by Marc Harshman
• Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie DePaola
• T is for Turkey by Price Stern Sloan
• When Will Fall Arrive? by Sanne Miltenburg
• We Gather Together by Wendy Pfeffer

 

Novels/Chapter Books

• Applesauce Weather by Helen Frost – This book from Candlewick Press is a beautiful story about love and loss.
• Back to School with Betsy by Carolyn Haywood – This was one of the first novels I read aloud to my children. We stumbled across the Betsy series at a used book sale, and fell in love. We love these simple, sweet stories. 
• The Great Turkey Walk by Kathleen Karr – This book is also featured in our article, “25 Favourite Chapter Books to Read Aloud.” You can read the description by clicking here. 
• The Imagination Station: Problems in Plymouth by Marianne Hering and Marshall Younger – The Imagination Station series is a brilliant living history series. It’s a Christian series in the same vein as the Magic Treehouse books. My oldest daughter has learned more from this series than from any textbook-based lesson we’ve ever done. In fact, because this series helped us discover the beauty of a literature-based history curriculum, we’ve decided to make living books the core of our history studies this year. You can read about that and view our booklist here.

These novels are all books that my oldest daughter recommends.

What are YOUR favourite fall books? Feel free to share in the comment section below!