Autumn, with all its glorious colour, is my favourite season. These beautiful books capture and celebrate the season perfectly. 🍁🦔🌳🦉🍂

October, October has fast become one of my favourite books of all time. It’s so raw and powerful and incredibly moving. It deals with grief and guilt, friendship, love and family. It’s also one of the most beautifully written books I’ve ever read! Katya Balen’s descriptions of the natural world are unparalleled.

October, October is the story of a father and his 11-year-old daughter, October. They live wild lives, cut-off from the modern world, connected instead to nature. However, tragedy strikes and the two are separated and October is uprooted from their home and moved to grey and noisy London.

October, October is wonderfully fresh and original. The scenes in the wild had a calming, centring affect on me as I read, and I felt more aware and in awe of my own natural surroundings.

Author: Katya Balen. Illustrated by Angela Harding. Published by Bloomsbury, 2020.

The Wonder Tree is a comforting bedtime read which gently explores the changes associated with autumn and looks in wonder at the natural world and the cycle of life on Earth. Gorgeous.

Author: Teresa Heapy. Illustrated by Izzy Burton. Published by Egmont, 2020.

Hedgehogs Don’t Live in the City is a lovely exploration of urban wildlife with exquisite, intricate illustrations which offer lots of interactive fun. There are mini-beasts to spot on each page, as well as the hedgehog. At the end of the book, there are lots of hedgehog facts, and tips for protecting hedgehogs in the city.

Author: Lucy Reynolds. Illustrator: Jenna Herman. Published by Doodles & Scribbles, 2018.

Storm is the autumnal book in Sam Usher’s fantastic seasons series about a young boy and his grandad. This time they’re off on a fantastic kite-flying adventure. Fabulous colours, swirling leaves and the most amazing kites. We love this series!

Author & illustrator: Sam Usher. Published by Templar Publishing, 2018.

A Poem for Every Autumn Day is a collection of poems – two for each day in September, October and November. The idea is that you can read one poem in the morning and then another in the evening. Many of the poems celebrate the natural world in autumn – its colours, fruits, and the weather – and these are gorgeous poems to get lost in with verses as rich as the season they describe. Other powerful poems have links to historical events that have anniversaries on the dates in question and these have a more sombre tone. There are poems to coincide with the start of the school year and poems about inspirational people from history. It’s a rich and varied collection from a great mix of poets and time periods.

Edited by Allie Esiri. Published by Macmillan Children’s Books, 2020.

Each of these books was generously gifted by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.