Celebrate the Season with These Children’s Books About Fall

This middle grade novel is a super fun mix of Indigenous American folklore in a contemporary setting. Ray Halfmoon, a member of the Cherokee Nation, lives with his grandpa Charlie in Chicago after his parents’ death when he was a child. For the last year, Mel Roberts and her mother, who are Muscogee, have lived with them, and Mel and Ray have quickly become the best of friends. Great Grandfather Bat is recovering from a wing injury in their yard and asks for Ray’s help in traveling to the Great Ball Game outside Macon, GA, an animal vs. bird baseball game. Gray Squirrel also wants to come along. It’s easy enough to convince Grandpa Charlie, whose old flame lives nearby. But the road trip isn’t without its problems.

The first Nell of Gumbling book, My Extremely Normal Fairy-Tale Life, was one of my favorite books of last year. Now Nell and her friends are back in a new adventure. These middle grade fantasies are written in diary format, with a mix of graphic novel panels and prose. It’s time for the Multi-Disciplinary Wilderness Engagement Adventure, when all the seventh graders spend a week camping in gumbling forest, where wishes might be granted and encounters with magical creatures are guaranteed. But then a wish goes wrong and Nell and her friends are all shrunk to Thumbkin sizes. On top of that, repressed crushes are causing a lot of excess drama. This series is super adorable and charming.

This interactive board book with sliding leaf panels invites toddler and preschool readers to learn about their colors amid playful fall scenes. Readers find purple eggplants in the garden as children rake leaves, orange pumpkins as they dance in leaf piles, and more. The illustrations are warm and energetic.