The fall books are back on the shelf today. I pulled them from here and there around the house in September and put them all together in a new basket just for seasonal books. I'm not sure if we read them a lot more than we would have anyway, but at least they were easier to find when we did want to read books about back-to-school, Halloween, autumn leaves, and Thanksgiving. Some new books found their way into our fall book basket this year, too:
We Gather Together: Celebrating the Harvest Season by Wendy Pfeffer; illustrated by Linda Bleck (Dutton Children's Books, 2006). Non-fiction picture book about harvest celebrations from the past that are still carried on all over the world today. We also added two of Bleck's retro-inspired Pepper the Dog books ("Pepper plays, pulls, and pops!") to our collection (Milly insisted).
How Many Seeds in a Pumpkin? by Margaret McNamara; illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Schwartz & Wade Books, 2007). This one inspired an afternoon of seed counting (by twos, fives, and tens) at our house. I really like Karas's illustrations, from the autumnal palette to the many multicultural faces of the children in Mr. Tiffin's class. Perfect all season.
Boo and Baa Have Company by Lena and Olof Landstrom (R&S Books, 2006). I like Swedish children's books in general, but we all adore Boo and Baa. The droll, deadpan text and the remarkably expressive illustrations of these two googly-eyed and clueless sheep work together perfectly: the result is hilarious. Apparently there is a whole series of Boo and Baa board books which are not readily available in the States (believe me, I've looked). Good thing I can read this one over and over again and still think it's great.
Most of our seasonal books come from the library: we go at least once at week, and we have lots of books out at a time. These we get to live with all year round, even when it's not their turn in the seasonal book basket.
[Thank you for your patience with the last of this year's fall books. Now it's time for winter...and Christmas!]
