Fall is a magical time of year.

We feel a nip in the air in the mornings and after the sun drops behind the trees. Leaves start to shed their green hue and show off their real selves.

It’s back to school time. It’s apple picking season.

Pumpkin everything is suddenly everywhere. We do a pumpkin theme in October.

Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower. ~Albert Camus

Our list of favorite fall books.

We read these selections every September. Leaves, apples, scarecrows.

Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert

Fall has come, the wind is gusting, and Leaf Man is on the move. Is he drifting east, over the marsh and ducks and geese? Or is he heading west, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and spotted cows? No one’s quite sure, but this much is certain: A Leaf Man’s got to go where the wind blows.

With illustrations made from actual fall leaves and die-cut pages on every spread that reveal gorgeous landscape vistas, here is a playful, whimsical, and evocative book that celebrates the natural world and the rich imaginative life of children.

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert

Watercolor collage and pieces of actual seeds, fabric, wire, and roots in this innovative and rich introduction to the life of a tree. A special glossary explains how roots absorb nutrients, what photosynthesis is, how sap circulates, and other facts about trees.

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall

We have a special tree in our yard–an apple pie tree!
Colorful collage illustrations follow each season as an apple tree grows leaves, fragrant blossoms, and tiny green apples. Soon the fruit is big, red, and ready to be picked. It’s time to make an apple pie! Here is a celebration of apples and how things grow–sure to delight young readers all year long.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson

As the leaves fall from his favorite tree, Fletcher worries that something is terribly wrong. But then winter comes, and with it a wonderful surprise.

The Seasons of Arnold’s Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

Arnold collects apple blossoms in spring, builds a tree house in summer, makes apple pie and cider in the fall, and hangs strings of popcorn and berries for the birds in winter, among other seasonal activities. Includes a recipe for apple pie and a description of how an apple cider press works.

The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger

As all the other leaves float off and fly past, Little Yellow Leaf thinks, I’m not ready yet.

As the seasons change all around, Little Yellow Leaf holds on to the tree. Still not ready.

Will Little Yellow Leaf ever be ready?

Leaves by David Ezra Stein

Bear is surprised when the leaves start falling off the trees, but when he tries to reattach them, it doesn’t work. Eventually, he gets sleepy, and burrows into the fallen leaves for a long nap. When he wakes up, it’s spring-and there are suddenly brand-new leaves all around, seeming to welcome him.

The Apple Pie that Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson

These are the apples, juicy and red,
that went in the pie,
warm and sweet,
that Papa baked…
for guess who!

Fall Mixed Up by Bob Raczka

Fall is all mixed up in this silly book! Can you find his mistakes in the words and pictures?

Autumnblings: Poems and Paintings by Douglas Florian

This collection of poems and paintings welcomes fall with all the crisp energy of a joyful tumbling run.

Johnny Appleseed by Reeve Lindbergh

Rhymed text and illustrations relate the life of John Chapman, whose distribution of apple seeds and trees across the Midwest made him a legend and left a legacy still enjoyed today.

Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth by Jane Yolen

Everyone knows the legend of Johnny Appleseed, the man from Massachusetts who planted apple trees all the way to California. But the true story of Johnny Appleseed, or John Chapman, is even greater than the legend.

The Scarecrow’s Dance by Jane Yolen

We’re introduced to the fickle scarecrow, who decides to leave his station and dance away the fall night. He leaps through the fields until he reaches the farmhouse, where he sees a small light in the window. Inside, a boy is saying his prayers, and he offers up a special prayer for the corn that will be harvested in the morning. Humbled, the scarecrow knows what he has to do: He returns to the field and watches over the corn as only he can.

Fall Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow

Learn about autumn leaves through a lyrical tale with illustrations and activities
With beautiful illustrations and a lyrical narrative, Virginia Snow takes children on a fun and educational adventure. Take a stroll through the woods and learn to identify 24 different kinds of leaves by their shapes and autumn colors. At the end of the day, learn how to press the gathered leaves and how to make a leaf rubbing.

Scarecrow by Cynthia Rylant

They perch high above gardens and fields, with borrowed coats and button eyes and pie-pan hands that glint in the sun. What else is there to know about them? Perhaps more than we realize

The Scarecrow’s Hat by Ken Brown

A resourceful chicken seeks the help of her farm animal friends to solve a problem, while giving something of herself along the way. Chicken really admires Scarecrow’s hat. Scarecrow would gladly trade his hat for a walking stick to rest his tired arms. Chicken doesn’t have a walking stick to trade—but she knows someone who does. Thus begins her quest to find items to trade among her farm friends, all to obtain a walking stick to swap for Scarecrow’s hat. But why does Chicken want an old straw hat?

The Apple Cake by Nienke van Hichtum

An old lady wants to bake a cake. She has everything she needs except apples. So she sets off to market to buy some apples, taking a basket of plums to trade along the way, just in case…

Woody, Hazel, and Little Pip by Elsa Beskow

This delightful autumn story describes woodland scenes when two acorn children get carried away to adventures by the blustery autumn wind.

South by Patrick McDonnell

When a little bird awakens to find that all of his friends and family have gone south for the winter, it takes a surprising friendship with Mooch the cat to help him find his way. This is a wordless and profoundly moving story–by the creator of the beloved comic strip Mutts–that explores being lost and found, crossing boundaries, saying goodbye, and broadening horizons.

Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hall

Thus begins a lyrical journey through the days and weeks, the months, and the changing seasons in the life of one New Englander and his family. The oxcart man packs his goods – the wool from his sheep, the shawl his wife made, the mittens his daughter knitted, and the linen they wove. He packs the birch brooms his son carved, and even a bag of goose feathers from the barnyard geese.

He travels over hills, through valleys, by streams, past farms and villages. At Portsmouth Market he sells his goods, one by one – even his beloved ox. Then, with his pockets full of coins, he wanders through the market, buying provisions for his family, and returns to his home. And the cycle begins again.

The Sunflower Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs

The story of Logan, a young gardener who hopes to grow sunflowers that reach all the way to heaven by summer’s end. Side by side with his father, the wise farmer, Logan discovers the value of planting seeds, not only in the ground, but also in the hearts of his friends and neighbors.

See our FALL crafts, activities, and more! See our apple activities.

Do you have any favorite fall books not on my list?