Pumpkins, leaves and Autumn things

Heat up your coffee and cuddle up somewhere cozy so we can discuss the transition to sweater weather.

Now that the weather is turning chilly, I want our home to feel cozy and welcoming—which can be a bit of a challenge when toys and clutter seem to take over every surface.

I’m doing a sort of “fall cleaning” and attempting to both deep clean and declutter before the cold weather keeps us indoors. My goals this week are to declutter my kitchen counters and dining room table (how is there always so much paperwork everywhere??). We’ll see if I can do it—and then keep them that way!

Here are some books my toddlers and I are reading to get us in the mood for chillier weather:

“Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn” by Kenard Pak

A little child notices how the world slowly slips from summer to winter. Tree branches sway in the breeze, leaves turn golden, animals gather food and people put on warm scarves.

This book has started some great conversations with my four year old about how “fall” and “autumn” are two words for the same season and how some animals travel south for the winter.

“It’s Pumpkin Time” by Zoe Hall

From the author and illustrator of “The Apple Pie Tree” (as seen in “Books for apple-picking season”) comes this sweet read about a brother and sister who plant a pumpkin patch so they can grow their own pumpkins for Halloween. Much like “The Apple Pie Tree,” children learn about how pumpkins grow from tiny seeds to the giant pumpkins we love to carve.

My two year old loved to see the dog on each page, and my four year old was very intrigued by the pumpkin-growing process.

“Too Many Pumpkins” by Linda White

I panicked the first time I opened this book. The first page had so much text—in such small type! According to the publisher, this book is meant for Kindergarten to third grade, but my four-year-old son is crazy about it. (And not every page has a lot of text!)

Rebecca Estelle does not like pumpkins, but when her yard accidentally becomes an enormous pumpkin patch, she discovers that she does love sharing them with others.

This book sparked some fun conversations about vocabulary (“smithereens”), the many ways you can use a pumpkin (making baked goods, roasting seeds, carving jack-o-lanterns), and the importance of generosity.

We ended up loving this one!

“Fletcher and the Falling Leaves” by Julia Rawlinson

This is a very adorable story about a fox, Fletcher, who is worried about his favorite tree. It’s leaves are turning brown and falling off! As he attempts to save his tree, he learns how other animals need the leaves as the weather turns cold, and that the whole process is nothing to worry about.

“Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.”

— Robert Louis Stevenson