Best Autumn books for children brimming with vibrant colour and adventure

Two boys, reading a book on a lawn in the afternoon, eating snacks, autumn sunset time

by Adejumoke Ilori |
Updated on

Autumn children's books are a great way of exploring, embarking on an adventure, starting interesting conversations about nature, and observing the changes that are going on around us.

Reading books regularly with your child also helps to builds comfort, confidence, security, enjoyment, and entertainment. It also shows them how important they are, when giving them attention which helps with their self-esteem, vocabulary, imagination and even develops a better sleep routine.

Best Autumn books for children at a glance:

Best overall Autumn picture book: Fletcher and the Falling Leaves - Buy now on Amazon

Best Autumn book for preschoolers: Awesome Autumn - Buy now on Amazon

Best Autumn book for humour: The Leaf Thief - Buy now on Amazon

Best welcoming Autumn book: Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn - Buy now on Amazon

Best Autumn book for sensory: Autumn - Buy now on Amazon

From sweeping up those crunchy Autumn leaves and finding unique conkers, to noticing squirrels coming in and out of trees, as the evenings draw in and the mornings become frost-filled and crisp, celebrate the changing seasons with an Autumn book. So, keep snug under a blanket and jump into our world full of the best children’s books about Autumn.

Best Autumn books for children

Best overall Autumn picture book

Fletcher and the fallling leaves children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £12.56

As the Autumn draws to a near, little Fletcher is super worried – his stunning tree has started loosing its leaves. What can Fletcher do to save them? he tries everything..and when the leaf fall off, Fletcher feels sad… until he suddenly returns the next day to a pretty sight. This book will have your little one feeling hopeful and able to accept changes.

One parent who bought this book thought it was a "funny and sweet story which addresses the misconception that lots of children have about trees "dying" in winter." They said they had lots of fun reading the book and that their children made some beatiful oil pastel tree art based on the illustrations.

Best Autumn book for preschoolers

Awesome Autumn book  children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £9.99

Isn’t it amazing how leaves change their colour, animals fly high in the sky and get ready to keep warm and hibernate. In this book your little one will be able to explore how beautiful Autumn really is and its facts.

One parent who bought this book thought it was a "Beautifully illustrated book for preschool and infant school aged children." They said, "My daughter used the pictures and words as inspiration for poetry homework." They men tioned that "There wasn't much in the way of facts that older children wouldn't already know and it’s not in-depth.: and said it was "More of a great book to flick through and talk about especially with younger ones."

Best Autumn book for humour

The leaf thief children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £9.89

There were loads of lovely leaves on his tree, but now some are missing, and Squirrel is adamant that someone has stolen them, but who could it be? there's a leaf thief on the loose and Squirrel is going to find them! Embark on a journey with Squirrel and find out who it is, a great book to teach your child how to identify different animals and colours. 

One buyer loved this book as a bedtime story for their son, saying there are a few collections from different authors and that this was one of their two favourites. They commented; "Great illustrations, lovely story, back and forth with the characters and little bit at the back for teaching purposes, for when they are at an age to understand the message in it."

Best welcoming Autumn book

Goodbye summer hello Autumn children's picture bookAmazon

Rrp: £18.99

Price: £11.99
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As the warm breeze turns colder and the leaves change their colours - it means autumn is on the way. With this great picture book, you'll be able to join a young girl as she takes a stroll through a forest and town, saying hello to the coming season.

One parent bought this book for their seven year old niece, saying, "My seven year old niece really enjoyed this book and called me to read some out to me!"

Best Autumn book for sensory

Autumn children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £11.34

This cute book, aimed at 1-3 year olds, will have your child find out and and explore the rare character of autumn, through outside and inside play. A perfect book to teach your little one seasons of the year.

One customer said they love these books because "They introduce the seasons in sensory descriptive ways like wrapping up in a cosy fleece, collecting acorns, kicking crunchy leaves, picking juicy blackberries, baking warm tarts, making art." They said, "It's just a beautiful introduction to Autumn. My daughters loved this book so much that I've ve just bought the winter book from the same author and I plan to buy the spring and summer books too."

Best Autumn book for babies

My first autumn book children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £7.99

This book, perfect for little hands, is a high-contrast book that features amazing and eye-catchy images of autumn. Great for babies, celebrating their first ever autumn, and helps them with visual stimulation and boosts creativity in their minds.

Unfortunately there were no customer reviews published for this book, but we like the size and suitability for babies, and think it would make a lovely gift to celebrate little one's first Autumn.

Best Autumn book for adventure

Hello Autumn book children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £9.80

As the beautiful Summer weather passed the baton to Autumn, a season of a mixture of colours and non-stopping adventures. A bunch of friends are getting ready to pick berries, leaf jumping and sightseeing in the gloomy forest, but Autumn is worried. The question is, what will it take to show to himself that he is bolder than he really thinks? 

One customer said; "We have enjoyed the Best Friends with Big Feelings books over the year as they released in time with the seasons, which makes sense as each is about a different season." They go on to describe how the books start with one child passing on their adventure to the next as one season bleeds into the next. Spring is down as book two, Winter book four, but you can read them in any order, or just wait to read them when the season is right. In their review they said, "The story is gentle and makes a nice bedtime story, a little bit of trepidation, but more of a gentle look at what makes a particular season unique. It is full of the classic stereotypes kids can recognise from baby animals or snow."

Best Autumn book for toddlers

I spy autumn book children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £5.99

This book is simply just fun. It comes with Autumn and Fall themed pages that contain letters and pictures. Children will be able to play a fun-filled game called “I Spy My Little Eye” where they’ll need to choose characters or objects connected to the letter they're on, and colouring each different artwork.

One parent took this book with their children to their local park and wood and said; "We identified trees and leaves and learned their names , we collected acorns, pine cones and conkers , we looked for squirrels and learned of other animals that would be living there. The children were very excited and engaged about the whole process."

Best Autumn book for sparking the imagination

Leaf Man Children's board bookAmazon

Rrp: £10.99

Price: £7.92
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This is a fun story that follows the Leaf Man's journey as he goes where the wind blows - over the marsh and ducks and geese, above the orchards, prairie meadows, and the spotted cows. We adore the fact that the illustrations are of stunning landscapes with actual Autumn leaves in them. Customers also find the illustrations beautiful and inspiring, saying, "it is the incredible illustrations that make this book a must read", and mentioning the book is an ideal teaching tool for an early years class and key stage.

One buyer exclaimed "I was looking for an autumn themed book to capture the attention and imagination of my early years class. Boy, this was it! This book is definitely more about the illustrations than the words, but they are so captivating and spark amazing conversations, so it really didn’t matter." It is definitely a book that sparks the imagination! They said "The children loved following Leaf Man on his journey, which they thought may have ended in our garden! This led us on a Leaf Man hunt. We collected leaves and made our own Leaf Man pictures!" ...and highly recommended the book for the classroom.

Best Autumn book for rhyming

We're going on a leaf hunt Children's picture bookAmazon

Rrp: £7.99

Price: £6.39
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if you're looking for an easy rhyming book that kids will love to follow along with, this one is for you, with its fun sound affects to keep them even more engaged. thestory follows three friends who have a big adventure togethervhiking over a mountain and through a forest to collect leaves of all kinds and colours. You'll have to buy the book to find out what they do with all of the leaves they collect though!

We really like the repetative structure of this story that helps younger children to follow along and join in. One customer said the book was "Perfect for my grandson who has speech problems as he can actually repeat it now as I read it to him. Wonderful, easy to follow and great for the autumn/fall. Also encourages children to love and protect nature."

Best Autumn book your kids won't forget in a hurry!

Fall mixed up Children's picture bookAmazon

Rrp: £19.99

Price: £18.25

This is a silly but super fun story where the author intentionally adds mistakes into the text and pictures for you and you little ones to find. We like that it encouraged children to pay attention to the details, and that they'll feel good when they find the errors.

The story is also memporable. One buyer describes the book; "The illustrations are stunning, and the story is very quirky and fun" and says, "It's now Christmas, and the kids are still talking about this story that we read in September!!" It's bound to become a favourite on your child's bookshelf.

Best Autumn book that's part of a series

 There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed Some Leaves! Children's picture bookAmazon

Rrp: £6.99

Price: £6.28
Alternative retailers
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This story is an autumnal twist on the well-known classic song from the bestselling There Was and Old Lady series for kids. It'll tickle you little one's sense of humour with its funny illustrations and all the silly things the old lady swallows. We like that there are more books in the series, so if your child takes a shine to it, they'll love receiving another book from the series at christmas too!

One buyer said, "Great story that the children picked up on quickly and could join in the words." Another reviewer said, "The story is really very nice, the fact that the text is rhyming and very repetitive is useful for children to memorize new words, I also like the fact that there are more stories about the old lady so every time it's like meeting an old friend again"

Best Autumn book for being sturdy quality with matte pages

apples and pumpkins children's picture bookAmazon

Rrp: £8.99

Price: £8.36

This is a sweet Autumn story about a little girl who spends a glorious day picking apples and searching fo the perfect pumpkin.

One reviewers said, "I bought this book for my toddler's seasonal board book display/collection, along with several others and this is probably our favorite one! My four year old reaches for it daily. The illustrations are sweet and beautiful and give those autumn vibes I was hoping it would. It’s a sturdy book, the pages on the inside are matte and not glossy. I hope this author and illustrator team makes more board books!"

Best Autumn book for artistic painting illustrations

In the Middle of Fall children's picture bookAmazon

Rrp: £18.99

Price: £11.79
Alternative retailers
Target$11.79View offer

This attractive book introduces basic concepts of language and the unique beauty of the fall season. We adore the expressive paintings of pumpkins, apples, falling leaves, busy squirrels, not to mention the transformation from colorful autumn to frosty winter. One reviewer said, "The colour in the book is beautiful and easy to catch kids eyes."

We love that it comes as a board book for younger babies and toddlers, as many customers have bought this book twice, with it being their child's favourite and the paper copy not holding up over time. One reviewer said, "This book is a staple in our home, so much so that I've had to replace it twice. I prefer this board book because it holds up well to little baby and toddler hands and mouths. Our kids love the illustrations and some of them have the book memorized. Beautifully and lyrically told. We love it."

The best Autumn book in a series of four books about the seasons

The Autumn Visitors children's picture bookAmazon
Price: £16.95

This is fourth and final book in this lovely seried about the seasons. It tells the tale of a family of bears who go on Autumnal adventures. There is a country fair, Halloween trick-or-treating, and a big Thanksgiving feast for all the friends of the forest. As always, the bears manage to have all their fun while carefully avoiding detection.

One reviewer said, "These books capture children's imagination. Could this be what happens when humans are not around? We need more books like this in our children's read aloud sections in homes and schools." Another reviewer said, "This is such a sweet book. The illustrations are lovely. I enjoy buying books for my grand-daughter. She's almost 4 years old and is so much fun to buy books for!"

What are the benefits of reading?

Autumn is a great season to get your child into reading book because Autumn picture book are often beautiful to look at with vibrant colours, and they tend to be stories about woodland creatures your little one loves or include topics and activities that can inspire outdoor play and foraging for leaves and other Autumnal goodies.

Reading in general is an important all-season activity and has many benefits for your child, including:

  • Helps your little one relax

  • Improves their concentration and memory

  • Boosts their vocabulary expansion and strengthens their future writing abilities

  • Develops knowledge

  • Increases their imagination and creativity skills

Mummy to a little girl, Adejumoke Ilori is Commercial Content Writer for Mother&Baby. With a BA hon in Creative Writing, she has worked for digital platforms, where she has empowered women from the inside and out, by sharing real life stories based on relationships and loving yourself.

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