Autumn is my favourite season – running through leaves in the woods, throwing leaves up in the air and collecting all sorts of autumn goodies – bark, acorns, leaves, conkers. When I was teaching in Early Years I would go out every weekend and come back with bags of treasure for classroom crafts – leaf rubbing, collages, sorting.
Walks on a sunny autumn day (or even a misty, damp one) are a fun (and free!) activity that children of all ages will enjoy. I’m sure a few adults still love swishing through the leaves too!
After a blowy autumn walk it’s lovely to curl up with a warm drink and a story. We have lots of favourite autumn picture books. Is yours on our list?
The Golden Acorn by Katy Hudson
We love Katy Hudson’s illustrations with their earthy autumnal colours. The rules for the Golden Acorn Hunt have changed and this year Squirrel can’t compete alone, she must be part of a team. Luckily Squirrel has a fabulous group of friends who team up to help her win the competition but none of them are squirrels and they’re not at all fast.
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What Small Rabbit Heard by Sheryl Webster & Tim Warnes
What Small Rabbit Heard is an amusing story about a windy walk which is perfect for autumn. Despite his initial reluctance to go out, Small Rabbit discovers that he can have a lot of fun in the wind. Small Rabbit’s actions add humour to a familiar situation as Big Rabbit tries to give him various instructions. But Small Rabbit can’t hear her properly because of the wind.
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Storm by Sam Usher
Storm is a great book to inspire children to go outside and have an autumn adventure. The boy and his grandad’s relationship and adventures harness the power of imagination and lead them outside to have fun. Grandad and the boy have fun flying through the air along with a host of other kite flyers. But there’s a storm brewing – can they make it home before it arrives?
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Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper
Pumpkin Soup is one of our favourite autumn picture books and reading it heralds the time of year when the days are getting shorter, the mornings are getting cooler and homemade soup becomes a staple food. The three protagonists in the story, Cat, Squirrel and Duck, have a very traditional soup making routine which is turned upside down when one of them decides he wants to do things differently!
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Winnie’s Amazing Pumpkin by Valerie Thomas and Korky Paul
This is one of our favourite Winnie stories and is especially relevant for the pumpkin season and Halloween. Winnie is a great role model in this story as she is portrayed enthusiastically cooking and eating vegetables as well as creating her own vegetable garden. The familiar situations of shopping and gardening are given a magical twist and we love Winnie’s final spell which transforms the pumpkin into a………..!
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Tree by Patricia Hegarty & Britta Teckentrup
Tree is a beautifully illustrated, peek-through, rhyming story that shows the changes that take place during each different season. It’s a great book to read throughout the year but particularly good for autumn when children are often more aware of leaves changing colour and falling off the trees.
Do you have any favourite autumn picture books to add to our list?
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