Early Years Autumn Reads: Savouring the Season Linky Party 7

I'm sure most of you have figured out by now that we're pretty big book fans in our house. We love our local library, and have far too many of our own books too. But books are investments, I always think, and there's something wonderful about little kids getting lots of exposure to books early on. I've taught many kids who "don't like reading", but I've yet to meet a little kid (3 or under) who doesn't like books... but maybe one of you can prove me wrong! (I'm happy to be challenged on that one!) Deep down, I think there's something valuable about early exposure that can create a lifelong love!

Anyway, we've been soaking up the autumnal theme in our house, and hunting down those books that make for good talking points. The following books are probably suitable for children between the ages of 1 and 5...

Here are some of our autumn favourites!

Guess What - Fruit? (Yusuke Yonezu)

I'm a bit of a fan of all the books in the Guess What series - both Ava and Heidi love this one. It's a lift the flap book that transforms pieces of fruit into animals, and Ava loves guessing what animal is going to be revealed (although she's read it so many times now, its not really "guessing" anymore! It's great for familiarity with the names of fruits and is a nice one to use if you're learning about description and opposites. It's a good one for conversations on colours as well. And, of course, it ties in with that autumnal, harvest theme!


The Gruffalo (Axel Scheffler and Julia Donaldson)

For me, the forest is just a symbol of autumn; leaves, bark, fir cones, conkers... and the first story that pops into my head when I think "forest" is this one. No child's book shelf is complete without it. I have yet to meet a child who doesn't adore this story, and adults will appreciate the cunning plan of the clever little mouse. I'm a big fan of everything Julia Donaldson, but this one is definitely the number one choice in our house.

After the Storm (Nick Butterworth)

Percy the Park Keeper conjures up images of my own childhood; I distinctly remember the Deputy Head of my Primary School regularly reading Nick Butterworth stories to us during assembly. And this one is a classic; particularly useful after this past weekend for talking about storms and the damage they cause - not just for humans, but for wildlife too. It's a cute little story about a raging storm, and then the aftermath when a huge tree has fallen down. The story shows how Percy the Park Keeper helps the animals, who have now been made homeless, and it is just a lovely story of teamwork, as well as a great one for this time of year!

The Forest

One of the things that teaching has taught me, is that its really important for children to be familiar with a wide range of genres, and so finding non-fiction books that are accessible for little ones is key. Yet good ones are SO hard to find! This is a bit of a gem as I came across it in a german flea market, but a bit of research has shown me it is available. It's all about the forest, throughout all the seasons, but the majority of time is spent on autumn. It's a fascinating little book which talks about the animals that live in the forest, as well as showing how the forest changes through the seasons. It also has some great stuff on berries and mushrooms which have been great for discussion with Ava about what we can touch and what we can't when it comes to forest exploration. Highly recommend!

A Year in the City (Kathy Henderson)

This book is literally just a picture book but its FABULOUS... there is SO much to see on each page, and it works through the months of the year so there's always something relevant to talk about. It's particularly good if you are town/city dwellers as the changing seasons can be a bit less obvious. To be honest, its a great one to have on the bookshelf all year round, and you really can go any direction with it as there is no official "story" - its just pictures!

So there you have it; our autumn reads. Do any of you have any autumn stories? We're always on the hunt for more!

In the meantime, link up your autumnal posts below - anything autumn related! Crafts, Recipes, trips out, thoughts - anything and everything! I'm eager for ideas!