Please welcome return guest author Sarah Pinneo. I love her picture book selections and many are new to me. They all have a wonderful autumnal, rustic-living-in-the-country feel. Are you ready for Fall? It’s come so fast! What are your favorite picture books that you are reading that evoke this time of year? Please share!
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I keep many picture books in seasonal rotation, which helps to set a nice tone, and also prevents anyone from asking me to read Frosty in July. Though it takes some of our favorites out of circulation for a while, we are always happy to see them come down again off the high shelf. The following picture books are such winners that my 6yo and 8yo are happy to see them even though my boys are now elder-statesmen of the picture book world.
Wonderful Picture Books Celebrating Autumn
Barn Dance by Bill Martin Jr., illustrated by Ted Rand
A story that brings out this writer’s rhythmic side. The picture of the “skinny kid” dancing with the goat is a family favorite.
When the Frost Is On the Punkin by James Whitcomb Riley, illustrated by Glenna Lang
is a dialect poem. Find this one at your local library.
Too Many Pumpkins by Linda White, illustrated by Megan Lloyd
is a terribly charming (and not at all scary) Halloween story. What other book contains the phrase “slimy pumpkin smithereens?”
The Ox-Cart Man by decorated poet and memoirist Donald Hall, illustrated by Barbara Cooney
won the 1980 Caldecott Medal, yet feels timeless still.
It’s Halloween by Jack Prelutsky
is perhaps the best of his seasonally-themed poetry collections. There are illustrations of goblins, etc, but they all look very, very friendly.
Zen Ghosts by Jon J. Muth
is another outstandingly painted, fascinated tale featuring that deep, unpredictable panda, Stillwater. For older children.
County Fair by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Did you know that there were picture books starring Laura, Mary & Almanzo? Someone did a very nice job of excerpting and illustrating these editions. And County Fair was always our favorite one.
Sarah Pinneo writes about food, family, and fiction from Hanover, N.H. Her new novel Julia’s Child will be published in February of 2012.
To examine any of the items listed, please click on image of item.
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My books:
Food for the Future: Sustainable Farms Around the World
- Junior Library Guild Gold selection
- Selected as one of 100 Outstanding Picture Books of 2023 by dPICTUS and featured at the Bologna Children’s Book Fair
- Starred review from School Library Journal
Amazon / Barefoot Books / Signed or Inscribed by Me
Amazon / Scholastic / Signed or Inscribed by Me
BEST #OWNVOICES CHILDREN’S BOOKS: My Favorite Diversity Books for Kids Ages 1-12 is a book that I created to highlight books written by authors who share the same marginalized identity as the characters in their books.