Crisp air, colorful leaves and cozy sweaters — fall is a season of change and wonder. For children, it’s also a time for exploration and learning. Curl up with a good book and ignite their imaginations with these fall books for children.
Get comfy with stories about vibrant fall foliage, playful adventures in pumpkin patches and the delightful snuggles of cooler weather. From informative picture books to heartwarming chapter reads, there’s a fall book to capture every child’s interest.
Board books for children 3 and under
Even the youngest children can enjoy stories about fall with engaging board books. These books have colorful illustrations and feature fall themes like apples, pumpkins and leaves. The texts are simple and repetitive, featuring sounds they can imitate, like leaves crunching underfoot.
“Touch and Feel Fall” by Scholastic
With vivid photography and interactive pages for children to touch, this book is perfect for little ones. It also features bright illustrations and simple word labels that help introduce animals.
“Little Acorn” by Igloo Books
This book is filled with beautiful illustrations and rhythm and rhyme that children will enjoy. It offers an age-appropriate explanation of the life cycle of trees and takes place in the fall.
“Autumn in the Forest” by Rusty Finch
Children will learn all about autumn in the forest through colorful illustrations and interactive flaps to lift. Readers follow a little chipmunk around the forest as he collects walnuts, acorns and buckeyes in preparation for winter. This interactive book helps support hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and sensory exploration.
“Baby Loves Fall!” by Karen Katz
In this lift-the-flap book, babies and toddlers will discover a fluffy hat, crunchy acorns and a yummy apple pie hidden under the flaps. Lifting the flaps helps develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills. It is full of colorful illustrations that children will enjoy.
“The Very Hungry Caterpillar’s First Fall” by Eric Carle
Young readers learn all about fall using their senses with the hungry caterpillar. They listen for the whooshing wind, feel the warmth of a cozy sweater, watch the leaves change color and more.
Stories for preschoolers
Rhyming stories with vibrant illustrations bring fall to life for preschoolers. Interactive books that encourage counting leaves or finding hidden animals add to the engagement and excitement of reading.
“Leaf Man” by Lois Ehlert
Each illustration in this book is made with actual leaves. Children’s imaginations come alive as they follow Leaf Man as he drifts east, west and everywhere in between, including over the marsh and above the orchards. After reading, kids can go on a leaf hunt to search for leaves to make their own Leaf Man.
“There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves” by Lucille Calandro
The old lady is back in this rhyming book where she swallows everything from leaves to a pumpkin and rope. It’s a silly book that is repetitive and easy to follow along. Kids love reading this book over and over.
“Tree Full of Wonder” by Anna Smithers
This book is full of vivid illustrations and simple information to help children learn how to recognize common trees, what we can do to protect trees and why trees are important and useful to us. It helps connect children with nature through rhyming and interesting facts.
“Seed, Sprout, Pumpkin Pie” by Jill Esbaum
Celebrate the flavor of fall by learning about pumpkins through real photographs and facts about how they grow. It includes the life cycle of the pumpkin as well as photos of cows eating pumpkins, fields full of pumpkins and mountains of pumpkins.
“Hide and Seek, Nuts to Eat” by Tracy Gold
Follow a squirrel as it hides seeds, nuts and berries in this rhyming book. It is told from the squirrel’s perspective, so kids get a different point of view. In the end, it includes scientific facts about squirrels so children can learn something new.
Fall books for kids 6 to 8
For children starting to read independently, chapter books and longer picture books about the changing seasons can fuel their enthusiasm for reading and autumn. Stories about friendship and fall activities help maintain their interest as they cuddle up and listen to stories or read on their own.
“The Scarecrow” by Beth Ferry
Two unexpected friends, a scarecrow and a crow, share a special connection. This story is a tale of friendship and helping others that teaches children empathy, kindness and love towards all creatures.
“I’ve lost count of the times I’ve read ‘The Very Last Leaf’ to our kids. It features personified leaves in a school whose last challenge is to fall from the tree. One leaf, named Lance, is nervous, and while he becomes the last leaf on the tree, he ultimately overcomes this challenge. Now, our kids are always looking for the last leaf on the trees around our home in the fall.”
— Dan Morris, Our Kiwi Homeschool
“A Very Big Fall” by Emmy Kastner
Adventurous Birch, grumpy Maple and nervous Oak each have their own ways of facing the new crispness in the air. The squirrels enjoy warning the leaves about all the changes that come with fall, but the leaves aren’t sure if the ground will be the end or a new beginning. This book shows children that change can be scary but also exciting.
“Leif and the Fall” by Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant
Leif is a worried leaf who is afraid to fall, so he uses the resources around him to create a net, a kite and a parachute, hoping to soften his landing. He has a friend who believes in him, and together, they try his ideas. Not all of them worked, but the ideas that didn’t work helped them get to one that did.
“Otis and the Scarecrow” by Loren Long
The farmer introduces a scarecrow to Otis and his animal friends, but the scarecrow always frowns despite the friendly smiles that they all greet him with. On a rainy day, when all the friends are playing a game, Otis is concerned about the lonely figure in the cornfield and tries to include him.
“Marya Khan and the Spectacular Fall Festival” by Saadia Faruqi
In this chapter book, Marya sees her frenemy win a big pumpkin-shaped trophy, and she’s determined to win a trophy for something. Her school is holding a fall festival, and the person who sells the most tickets, with proceeds going to the animal shelter, will win a prize. She is determined to win, but she might lose sight of what really matters.
Final thoughts
With vibrant illustrations and engaging stories, these fall books for children will engage young readers. Snuggle up with your child this cozy season and go on a literary adventure together. Look for these books at your library, local bookstore or online.
Heidi is a Certified Elementary School Teacher in the Inland Northwest and has been teaching for 18 years. She is also a vintage recipe blogger at RealLifeofLulu, where she focuses on recipes that are at least 50 years old, many from her grandparents’ kitchens. When she isn’t teaching or baking, she loves spending time with her husband and three kids.