My Favorite Books For Fall - a blog hop with the #KinderFriends

I think every teacher has favorite children's books - maybe a whole lot of favorites!  Still, even knowing there are some books I will absolutely read with my students doesn't stop me from wanting to find more favorites.  I'm a bibliophile through and through, and for all the other bibliophiles out there, the #KinderFriends are sharing our favorite fall books.  Take a look, see what you discover, and if there's something amazing we're missing, leave it in the comments!

 To me fall means leaves, apples, pumpkins, and animals getting ready for winter, so I focused on books about those topics.  

Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert is a classic for a reason; it's a beautiful read aloud, full of gorgeous illustrations and information about maple trees.  I can't imagine teaching and learning about leaves without it!  While you're learning about leaves, you have to also check out Leaf Man, also by Lois Ehlert.  This story is illustrated with pictures made from a variety of beautiful fall leaves, of every shape, size and color imaginable.  It lends itself to follow up activities like a leaf collecting walk, and creating images with those leaves.  

I've written about my favorite apple books before, but still had to include 2 on my list this time around:  Ten Red Apples, by Pat Hutchins, and How Do Apples Grow?, by Betsy Maestro.  I like Ten Red Apples for the memorable refrain, and for the math element of counting down.  I love everything about How Do Apples Grow?, especially all the science learning that's included and made understandable for young children.  

When I think of my favorite books about animals in fall, Time to Sleep by Denise Fleming tops the list!  Her illustrations are phenomenal, and each page of this lovely story features a different animal noticing different signs of fall.  There's a surprise at the end when the story comes full circle, but the tone of the book is one of calm, slowing down, preparing to sleep.  If you have a group of children who need to unwind a little, a gentle reading of this book will help them settle down, just like the animals in the story.

I've included one more book that doesn't, at first glance, seem to be related to fall: The Dot, by Peter Reynolds.  This is the story of Vashti, a little girl who doesn't believe she can draw.  When her wise teacher values her mark making, Vashti learns to value it too.  This book has inspired a movement, all about making our marks, and seeing where they'll take us.  You can learn more at http://www.thedotclub.org/dotday/.  International Dot Day is celebrated each year on September 15th-ish, so it's not too late to grab a copy of the book, and make your mark - with or without children.  Follow up by reading Ish, also by Peter Reynolds.  

I hope you enjoy these fall favorites, and I'd love to hear which books you'd recommend to me!  If there's an indispensable fall book missing from my list, please let me know, otherwise, I hope you'll continue our blog hop and check out more favorites!  Hop on over to Pamela at Pocket Full of Centers!