Reading recommendations from Dr. Alice Mar
September is here which means it’s fall. You may not believe it with the 90 degree days and sun…but just go to the store and look at all the pumpkin spice products and you’ll know it’s true. Fall is my favorite season. So many fun family activities you can do: apple picking, pumpkin carving, pie making, apple printing with paint, leaf collecting, hikes. And of course, so many wonderful fall themed books to enjoy!
The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson
Apple picking is a great fall activity. And of course after apple picking comes apple pie baking. The text in this lovely book is similar to “The House that Jack Built” refrain and the author encompasses the entire pie making pro
cess from the rain that watered the roots that fed the tree that grew the apples to the final warm and sweet pie.
How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman
Okay, this isn’t technically a fall-themed book, but it’s about apple pies so it always makes me think of fall. One of our family’s all time favorites, the book follows a girl as she collects the ingredients for an apple pie from all over the world (Semolina wheat from Italy. Cinnamon from Sri Lanka. Sugar from Jamaica) because her local market is closed.
Ten Apples Up on Top by Dr. Seuss
Super silly. Super fun. My boys loved this book about a lion tiger and dog balancing apples on their heads. A side bonus is that it’s a counting book as well.
Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert
Using real fall leaves for the illustrations, Lois Ehlert takes us on a wonderful fall journey as we follow Leaf Man as he is blown away on an adventure by the wind. This is a great book to read before taking a nature walk and looking for leaves to make your own leaf man picture at home.
Pumpkin Jack by Will Hubbell
Tim carves a pumpkin and loves it. He names it Jack but when Halloween is over it starts to change and slowly rot. Tim sets it out in the garden and watches it change over time. This is sort of a Halloween story but it’s really a wonderful look at the life cycle of plants. And at where all that pumpkin spice comes from.
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin by Margaret McNamara
This book is part non-fiction math book (skip-counting), part science book and partly a story with a sweet moral about “good things in small packages”. Charlie, the smallest boy in class, is thrilled to discover that the smallest pumpkin his class has contains the most seeds. Before getting to that point the reader follows the class as they count the seeds by twos, fives and tens and learn some facts about pumpkins.
Pumpkin Town by Katie McKy
A family of well-intentioned pumpkin farming brothers accidentally create a mountain of pumpkins in a nearby town. The boys come to rescue. Hilarious collage illustrations make for an extra fun read for this fable-like story.
Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller
One of the weirdest but sweetest children’s books in recent years, this book tells the story of a little girl who falls in love with a squash (that she names Bernice). Unfortunately, similar to the pumpkin in Pumpkin Jack, Bernice starts to “change” as time goes on. Sophie buries her in the soil to try and heal her and has a wonderful surprise in the spring (Bonnie and Baxter the squash babies).
