It’s probably no surprise that as a former early elementary teacher, we have an enormous amount of books in our home. You can find books in almost every room in our house, and I have a very difficult time controlling myself when it comes to acquiring more. I’m so thankful for libraries for this reason – guilt free book acquisitions! One of the more challenging parts of the early COVID season for us was the closure of libraries. Thankfully in our area they are open for curbside pickup – the kids and I look forward to library pickup day immensely!
I know one of the challenges for parents right now is how to pick books for their kids. Many are thinking: Without seeing the physical copies of books in the library, how do we pick books? What books are appropriate for my child? I have some ideas for you!
Book Lists
Book lists have helped me find some of my favorite books over the years! Using the list, I search my library for a copy of the book to check out and place a hold. There are book lists for a variety of subjects and reading levels. The very best book lists I have found are from The Measured Mom. These lists are thorough, and often come with descriptions of the books so you know if it might be of interest to your child!
This list has 150 books divided into fall themes such as apples, leaves, pumpkins, scarecrows, Halloween, and Thanksgiving along with some general fall books as well. If you click on the printable library list it is easily readable with book titles and authors. We are working through some of the apple and fall themed books right now!
Begin developing your own seasonal and holiday library!
One of my favorite traditions with my kids is to have a collection of seasonal and holiday books that we own. At the beginning of the season, we pull the books out and leave them our for several weeks or until it is time to bring out. the next batch. I think I get just as excited as the kids! It feels a little bit like seeing a good friend after a year’s absence. My 5 year old has been reading some of these same books every year for several years now, and I am now hearing him say things like, “I LOVE this book!” “Oh I remember this one!” “Do you want me to read this one to you?”
We like to add to our book collections as well when we find a book we really like. I have these books organized in a file cabinet (former teacher here – yes I have a filing cabinet!). Another way to do this would be to have a seasonal book box put somewhere where it is not easily accessed by little hands. The element of surprise and anticipation is worth it! I group the books together and put them in order as the year progresses; when one season or holiday ends I put the group at the back so that it naturally rotates through the collection.
I hope you find some fun autumn themed reading inspiration!
Kristen's Korner 