As I was putting away our Halloween decorations and replacing seasonal books in our family library, I came across some wonderful read-aloud books for fall. As my boys get older, we are filtering out some of our reading collections and removing younger books. In doing this, I thought it would be a great time to showcase books I may or may not have written about here on the blog.
Some of these books are easily found at the library or bookshop, while others are discontinued. To that, I say it is a real shame, since these books are stories that we have read for years, and they will never be outdated for little ones. I always pullout classic children’s books when we have young children over.
Books are a very hard thing for me to part with. Are you the same way? I know some books will always be in print, but as you will see in this list, not all books are easily found forever. This is why I hold on to some special little stories my children have loved. I absolutely love reading these books to other children and seeing their reactions. For years, I was a volunteer librarian at my children’s school. I must admit I have missed doing that over the last two years, with the pandemic not allowing volunteers in the schools. I even thought about reading some books over my YouTube channel for children missing that special time at school. Albeit short, storytime is a time to hear a story they may never have heard before. I often brought our favourites into school to read if they were not in the library already. And many times, I encouraged children to try new books, older, books they might never have looked at, and they inevitably loved them.
Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper – Cat, Squirrel and Duck are three friends who make pumpkin soup together every day. They always do it the same way, until Duck thinks he’s got a better idea… This story is beautifully illustrated by the author and encourages working together, even if you might not initially like the other person’s (or in the case, animal’s) idea. It’s a great story to read to children before making up a big pot of pumpkin soup at home too.
Strega Nona’s Harvest by Tomie dePaola – Every year Strega Nona carefully plants her seeds and uses her magic touch to grow her garden. Her helper Big Anthony figures he should be able to grow a garden too. But Big Anthony is not careful. Soon he has a jungle on his hands – Mamma mia! What will he do with all these vegetables? Author and illustrator, dePaola is so charming in his words and characters, it’s always a pleasure to read his stories out loud. With a small mix of Italian words, I’m always able to introduce children the language and they get a kick out of them! I have a feeling this little story encouraged my boys to get into the garden themselves in some way.
Mousekin’s Golden House by Edna Miller – A wonderfully illustrated story written in 1964, this book has graced a library in my home for decades. I remember my mother reading this story to me, and I read it to my boys. Unfortunately, this book is discontinued, so if you ever come across it in a vintage bookshop, you should snatch it up! Maybe you will find it in your local library. I love how Miller created a story around what happens to a pumpkins after Halloween, and so did my boys.
A Poppy Is to Remember by Heather Patterson and Ron Lightburn – We purchased this book a long while ago through the Scholastic book fair at the boys’ school. It is not a story that we love necessarily, but it is a very important book to have to explain Remembrance Day to little ones. The poem In Flanders Fields is included in the book, along with illustrations and real photographs. It is a simple book for children leading up to the 11th of November, in order to explain why everyone is wearing a red poppy.
If you are looking to purchase these books, feel free to click on the Amazon link I have to the right. You can also search you local bookshop. Let me know if you manage to find the Mousekin book – it is truly hard to find!