36 Picture Books For Autumn

Lovely Books To Enjoy Together This Fall Season (And A Printable List)

Fall is my favorite time of year, as it is for so many people, and I'm surprised that it took me so long to assemble a list of our favorite autumn picture books.  These books all capture different aspects of fall, or just have an autumnal vibe.  

We are a little picky about fall picture books.  It has to be nostalgic or have some cozy factor to make the list.  I also didn't include books that have too much of a focus on Halloween, since we don't celebrate Halloween in our family - most of these books don't have an allusion to Halloween at all, and if they do it's very brief and I tried to make a note of it.  As a result, this is truly a list that focuses on the season of fall and not any particular holiday.

If you want to expand this list a bit, I will have a complete Thanksgiving book list coming up in the next few weeks! Don’t forget to scroll to the end of this post for a printable version of our autumn book list.

Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak - A beautiful picture book about the transition from summer to fall.  This whole series is lovely for the changing seasons.

The Turnip by Jan Brett - This is the story of a particularly huge turnip, and how the animals must get it out of the ground before it snows.  This story was fun, and really captures that transition period between harvest and winter.

Autumn Story by Jill Barklem - I love all the Brambly Hedge books for each season!  In this one, Primrose goes wandering in the woods, gets lost in some hidden tunnels, and is finally found by her parents and friends.  The cozy illustrations really make these books.

The Little Scarecrow Boy by Margaret Wise Brown - This is a funny story about a scarecrow boy that wants to go work with his dad, but his dad doesn't think he's ready...until he sneaks out one day to scare some crows on his own!

The Apple Pie That Papa Baked by Lauren Thompson - Using repetition and simple monochromatic illustrations this book tells the story of an apple pie being baked and shared.  This would be a cute one to read before actually baking an apple pie!

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall - All about the process of growing apples and making apple pies.  I associate apple pies especially with the fall, and this would be another book to add for an apple pie theme.

County Fair inspired by Laura Ingalls Wilder - This is part of a picture book series related to the Little House On The Prairie books.  In this volume, Almanzo's pumpkin is contender in the county fair.

The Pumpkin Runner by Marsha Diane Arnold - Based on a true story of a sheep farmer who beat out a bunch of younger contestants in a long-distance race in Australia...by eating pumpkins!  I don't know if the pumpkin part is true or not, but the pumpkins make this a delightful book for fall nevertheless.

The Little Yellow Leaf by Carin Berger - A yellow leaf desperately holds on to its branch, afraid to let go, until he finally finds a friend to make the jump with him.  Very sweet story.

The Berenstain Bears Harvest Festival by Mike Berenstain - The Berenstain Bears are classics, and this is a particularly cute one as the family goes to a harvest festival and then talks about all the blessings God sends us in the fall.

Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale Retold by Steven Kellogg - This is our favorite book version of the story of Johnny Appleseed, a frontiersman who planted many apple tress in the Ohio wilderness, and how his legend grew.  The illustrations are fun, and it ends on a perfect note for a tall tale.

Hooray For Fall by Kazuo Iwamura - Mick, Mack, and Molly, adventurous squirrel children, are back in this cute fall adventure in their brand-new red sweaters, knitted by their mother!  They explore the woods and make note of all the fall changes.  We like all the books in this series.

Bear Has A Story To Tell by Philip C. Stead - Bear has a story to tell, but everyone is getting ready to hibernate for the winter and can't listen.  Maybe he'll finally get to tell them when they wake up in the spring - if he can remember it!

Fletcher And The Falling Leaves by Julia Rawlinson - Fletcher notices the leaves are falling off his favorite tree, and he desperately tries to prevent them from leaving.  Dejected, he realizes he can't stop the leaves from falling...but then something beautiful comes to take their place.  This book is sweet and poignant, and my kids love all of Fletcher's adventures.

Little Tree by Loren Long - In this book, a little tree holds onto his leaves too long, until he realizes he'll never grow unless he lets them book.  A beautiful story and touching message.

Lawrence In The Fall by Matthew Farina - Lawrence doesn't have a collection to bring for show and tell at his school, until his dad takes him on an adventure in the woods.  He finds a beautiful leaf collection to share with his classmates.  

The Busy Little Squirrel by Nancy Tafuri - All the animals want a squirrel to join them in their fun, but Squirrel is too busy getting ready for winter.  This would be a fun story to start explaining hibernation for small children.  The illustrations are also bright and fun!

Fall Leaves by Loretta Holland - This book explains all the changes we see in nature as fall approaches, in the middle of the season, and as it starts to come to an end.  The illustrations in this one are also so luminous and pretty!

Count Down To Fall by Fran Hawk - This book is probably one of my personal favorites for fall - I love the woodland illustrations.  The book is written in verse as we explore the way many different kinds of leaves change in autumn, and they even include aspen trees, which are my personal favorite. 

Sophie's Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller and Anne Wilsdorf - Sophie finds a perfect squash, and starts treating it like a doll and taking it with her everywhere.  Her parents try to convince her to give it up, but she won't until it starts to get soft and squishy - then she tucks it into a warm dirt blanket until it greets her again in the spring.  I was amused by this book as a parent - you know it was written because some child somewhere really did become attached to a squash!

Pumpkin Day At The Zoo by Susan Meissner - All the zoo animals get a pumpkin treat in this colorful book!  The illustrations in this one are delightful, and I love that it's written in verse.

Tractor Mac: Autumn Is Here by Billy Steers - Fergus, a new calf on the farm, starts to become afraid when everything starts to change in the fall - until he finds out the reasons why and experiences all the fun autumn can bring!  I included this one especially because of the illustrations - they are so bright and cheerful and perfect to get in the mood for fall fun.

A Fall Ball For All by Jamie A. Swenson - A gorgeous picture book - the art really makes this one for me. Forest animals all gather to enjoy an autumn windfall "ball".  

How Many Seeds In A Pumpkin by Margaret Macnamara - A class of children make guesses about which pumpkin holds the most seeds - and find out that size is only one factor for how many seeds a pumpkin makes.  This book is also a great opportunity for a math tie-in with skip counting and multiplication.

The Scarecrow's Dance by Jane Yolen - The illustrations in this book are moody and almost creepy, but the story is cute - a scarecrow gets blown off his stake and dances down the corn rows.  Then he hears a sweet prayer from a child, asking for blessing on the scarecrow in the field so they can get a good corn harvest - and the scarecrow realizes the best place he can be is right where he was all along.  

Too Many Turkeys by Linda White - A really fun book about a couple who keeps a turkey...but then have trouble as all the turkeys of the forest are drawn to their yard. Fred gives away their gardening secret to the neighbors to solve their turkey problem!

Sweater Weather by Matt Phelan - This is a book of very few words, but the quirky illustrations of a rambunctious bear family were very relatable to us as a large family!

Peepers by Eve Bunting - Two boys help their dad with his leaf touring business, and make fun of the leaf "peepers" behind their backs...until the end, when they realize they sound an awful lot like the peepers as they enjoy the beauty of early winter.  My kids laughed at this one.  We all related to it since we live in an area with alot of "peepers"...and we sound like them when going on leaf excursions too! One mention of Halloween in this one.

When Fall Comes by Aimee M. Bissonette - This picture book is really beautiful, and explores the way animals - and people - prepare for fall and winter.

In The Middle Of Fall by Kevin Henkes - I really like this book for the younger crowd - bold illustrations, and simple text about all the colors of fall and the transition to winter.

Knight Owl by Christopher Denise - This book isn't specifically related to autumn, but to me it had a fall vibe. An owl applies to be a knight, and to his surprise is accepted!  He becomes a night watchman, and uses his courage and wits to befriend the dragon that has been gobbling other knights up.  Really cute book overall.

Sleep Tight Farm by Eugenie Doyle - A lovely picture book about all the ways a farm might need to get ready for winter.  There are a lot of things related to harvest in this book, which is why I'm including it in the fall list, but it could be great for early winter too.

Ox-Cart Man by Donald Hill - This book shows how a family in the 1800s might have worked to support themselves throughout the year - then the man takes a trip to the market in the fall to sell their produce and trade for wares to last them through the next year.

Earl The Squirrel by Don Freeman - The kids and I enjoy this story of a little squirrel who accepts too many gifts from a little girl, until his mother insists he start working to gather his own acorns.  The illustrations are really retro and cute!

Miss Suzy by Miriam Young - Another squirrel story! Miss Suzy loses her cozy home and is rescued by a band of toy soldiers. This is an adorable story with a fall feel to it.

A Fall Treasury Of Recipes, Crafts, and Wisdom by Angela Fererro-Fanning - This is a very kid-friendly craft and recipe idea book.  We didn't read straight through it, but we flipped through for ideas, and I loved the cute illustrations too!

The kids remembered a couple books recently that I didn't get from our library this year, so I may very well be adding to this list in the future!  

For a printable version of this list, click here.