WONDERFALL by Michael Hall (Greenwillow Books, 2016)

Fall comes as a gentle breeze that jiggles an oak tree full of leaves in various shades of green. Acorns fall from the tree: Plink. Plunk. Plop. “Peacefall.”

The days grow longer, the colorful oak more beautiful, with bright pops of orange, red, and the changing colors of the season. “Beautifall.”

Digitally-rendered shapes, reminiscent of cut-paper, are sure to catch the eye of young readers. I imagine teachers will use the book as a springboard for “Wonderfall” displays of poems and student art.

YELLOW TIME by Lauren Stringer (Beach Lane Books, 2016)

A look at the cover and you know this book is going to be delicious. Open, and the end pages are splashes of yellow that exude a bright warmth, immediately making the reader happy and ready to dive into the poetic text that follows.  Here’s a snippet from early on :

“Just before yellow time,

the air smells different.

Like wet mud and dry grass

with a sprinkle of sugar.”

Yellow Time swells with movement and the joy of all that yellow dropping from trees and catching in hair and  sweaters, pooling in gutters, and decorating sidewalks. The book is a glorious song of praise to the world turned yellow when the ash trees lose their leaves. Don’t miss this beautiful book.

LITTLE BLUE TRUCK’S HALLOWEEN by Alice Schertle, illustrated by Jill McElmurry

I’m in love with Alice Schertle’s poetry, and even through this post goes up on Halloween, too late for some to be interested in Schertle’s newest Little Blue Truck book for *this* year’s holiday, I can’t let it go by without at least urging readers to track down the book for next year’s preschool or Kindergarten class.

Like all the Little Blue books, Schertle’s rhyme is impeccable and this book – a lift-the-flap – makes use of that rhyme to encourage readers to anticipate which animal will be hiding under the flap.

Schertle has many wonderful poetry collections for older readers, but this series is the perfect marriage of poetry and picture book in the hands of a pro.

What are some of your favorite books for FALL? Share them in the comments.