Special edition: Fall 🍁

"October gave a party; the leaves by hundreds came..."

Aug 26, 2020

(from “October’s Party,” by George Cooper)

It surprises me every year, how fall really begins in August, even here in Wisconsin where the seasons are just enough out of rhythm with the rest of the county to be wacky and difficult, if not also gorgeous and underrated (depending on your mood). The leaves on the maples in my yard started turning ever so slightly more than two weeks ago. The bee balm and black-eyed Susans are fried, the tomatoes are coming in like it’s the last chance they’ll ever have to produce, and out of nowhere, the goldenrod has appeared. It’s hotter than it ever gets here and yet I am ready for new pencils, an abundance of apples, sweaters. I have long felt fall is my real New Year’s.

This one is, of course, different, and I am trying to prepare — to fortify, really — myself in both new and old ways. I am buying myself fresh wool house shoes. Signing up for a fall share with our CSA. Trying to find a routine that makes any kind of sense, that supports even a smidgen of resiliency. When I pulled these books out of my fall box (of course I have seasonal book boxes — eight, to be exact), I was happy to see them — not only for the comfort beloved books provide, but for the much-needed reminder that the wheel turns; the year goes on and around; every season, no matter the circumstances, returns again and again. It’s not something to hang everything on, but it’s not nothing either.

Here’s to a fall like none we’ve experienced before and one also, in some ways, the same. I hope you see, do, eat, drink, experience one thing about fall that you really love. Whatever it is, revel in it. You deserve, at least, revelry.

Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington (2001)

“Annie is an apple farmer. She has a big orchard of apples. In the fall, she picks baskets and baskets of round, ripe apples.” Like many of Wellington’s books, this is a simple story told simply, but don’t dismiss it based on its humble presentation — little kids LOVE this book, and the passion is deserved. As readers accompany Annie on her busy day — baking with her apples, loading up her truck and driving to the city, setting up her stand at the farmer’s market — there is much to see. The best part here, to me, is that the Apple Farmer is an Annie — it’s hard to find farming books featuring women, and furthermore this one is just plain good. Wellington’s characteristic, somewhat blocky illustrative style makes this a busy, colorful, satisfying read — with all the crunch and satiety of eating an apple.

Apples and Pumpkins by Anne Rockwell, illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell (1988)

I’ve written about the Rockwell family and their body of work before, mentioning that their concept books and titles that focus on what are essentially the mundane events of a life — like going to pick apples and pumpkins — are among their best, and I stand by that statement. There is nothing earth-shattering about the story here (or in any of Anne’s and later Lizzy’s books) but I think that’s why it’s so likable: it depicts something that is a bit everyday for us adults but that’s entirely new for children. I’d be hard-pressed to come up with an author whose books my kids have responded to as toddlers and preschoolers more strongly than Anne Rockwell’s (we’re talking Sandra Boynton levels of loyalty and dedication here). This title does culminate with Halloween — it’s always a difficult and diffuse line between “fall” and “Halloween,” but I included it here because it fits “fall” better. If you have a little one in your life, if you plan on picking pumpkins and apples this year, this is the read for you.

Mrs. McNosh and the Great Big Squash by Sarah Weeks, illustrated by Nadine Bernard Westcott (2000)

The more books we explore (which is really saying something) the more I realize how much I appreciate a very well-written, rollicking rhyme. This title is so damn fun to read I’m not sure who enjoys it most, me or my children, but who cares? All of us gladly follow along as Mrs. Nelly McNosh plants a squash and then it quickly grows out of control. It rolls from the garden, flattening the cat, knocking over trash cans, smashing through the fence and “scaring the pants off two elderly gents.” When Mrs. McNosh finally picks the enormous squash, she doesn’t know what to do with it: “There isn’t a place in the world it will fit. It’s as big as a house — Wait,” said Nelly, “that’s it!” Westcott’s illustrations are a deft comic match for the ludicrous storyline, a package that elicits many giggles. Mrs. McNosh is one to know (check out the precursor to this title, Mrs. McNosh Hangs Up Her Wash as well as the follow-up, Oh My Gosh, Mrs. McNosh) — you won’t regret inviting her into your home.

Mystery Vine by Cathryn Falwell (2009)

I’ve mentioned before that we are huge Cathryn Falwell fans and this title does not disappoint. Like its excellent though hard to find companion book about summer, Rainbow Stew, this is a simple and yet totally satisfying story of kids in the garden. Beginning with planting seeds in the spring and moving through that growing season, they find a mystery vine, and it becomes a focal point of this pleasurable rhyming tale. Falwell is just superb at depicting children and their families — her books are often multi-generational, which I love and appreciate — and there is something about her images that really draw children (at least my children) in. Older readers or kids who tend gardens will probably know what the mystery vine is from the beginning, but that doesn’t deter from this fun family story in full celebration of fall.

(Note: there is one page that depicts Halloween but as it’s not the focus of narrative at all, I’ve included it here.)

Possum’s Harvest Moon by Anne Hunter (1996)

I am a huge fan of moon books. I am also a fan of “one last dance in the moonlight before the long winter” (which is what I think mean when I talk about fortifying myself), so Possum’s plan to host a Harvest Soiree for his friends is completely my jam. The problem is that when he goes around inviting folks, everyone has an excuse — the mice are too busy, the crickets are too cold, Raccoon has so much to eat and too little time. Just when he gives up, the moon rises in all its harvest glory and helps him out: “It made every tired and busy creature pause. It was a moon that made them dream of dancing, of eating and singing… how could they possibly miss Possum’s Harvest Soiree?” They can’t, of course, and they don’t. They party until the fireflies’ lights dim — Hunter captures the soft, muted details here in both words and images, setting a marvelous and moony (though not at all gloomy) mood — and it’s time to say goodbye and curl up in snug homes for the winter. If this is a way to prepare, I’m in.

Sophie’s Squash by Pat Zietlow Miller, illustrated by Anne Wilsdorf (2013)

“One bright fall day, Sophie chose a squash at the farmers’ market. Her parents planned to serve it for supper, but Sophie had other ideas.” Thus begins the reader’s journey with Sophie and her squash — soon to be christened Bernice — whose life together makes up this endearing story. Sophie treats Bernice like a doll, bringing her to storytime at the library, doing somersaults by the garden, giving her a bottle and a hug and kiss at bedtime, defending her when Sophie’s mother tries to cook her for dinner. Eventually, Bernice goes the way of all uneaten or unpreserved vegetables and Sophie seeks advice at the market: “What keeps a squash healthy?” Sophie asked a farmer. “It’s simple, really,” he said. “Fresh air. Good, clean dirt. A little love.” Sophie has all that, so she brings Bernice to the yard and buries her beneath a pile of leaves, and overnight, it snows. Wilsdorf’s illustrations make for a delightful, page-turning experience, allowing the reader to be with Sophie and Bernice during every moment of their relationship, including the end — or is it a new beginning? — when in the spring Sophie finds nothing outside where she left Bernice except a small, green, strangely familiar sprout. This is a sweet tale about the power of love, sure to please anyone who has ever had any kind of unconventional friend.

Pumpkin Soup by Helen Cooper (1998)

I have saved the best for almost-last. It’s hard to emphasize how much we love this book. In a home full of as many holiday books as one could possibly want (see: eight boxes), this ranks, if not first of ALL our seasonal books, then at least in the top three. It is beloved. I read it so many times every fall that I am beyond happy to put it away for another year, even though I enjoy it, even though I think it’s basically perfect. (The sequel, A Pipkin of Pepper, is almost as good.) “Deep in the woods there’s an old white cabin with pumpkins in the garden” — this is where Cat, Squirrel and Duck live together peacefully, each with their special job to do when they make their nightly pumpkin soup, “the best you ever tasted.” Everyone is happy, until one morning Duck decides to shake up their routine by taking over Squirrel’s job, and this is a grave offense. The three animals quarrel and Duck runs off, feeling unappreciated and angry. He doesn’t return and the other two are fine with that. Then he doesn’t return and the other two begin to worry. Then he still doesn’t return and the other two imagine the worst and go out to look for him. I won’t give away the ending but will only say, if you are looking to buy a book this fall, make it this one. This is a warm, funny story about harmony, friendship, the ways we can muck those two up, and reconciliation. The book really is the best you ever tasted.

Apples, Pumpkins, Carrot Pie: Autumn Tales Two by Suzanne Down

If ever there were a time not to judge a book (or a collection of books) by its cover, this is it. Suzanne Down, a professional storyteller, is the owner and operator of a business called Juniper Tree School of Story and Puppetry Arts. She offers a variety of things that I won’t go into here, except to say that her Story and Puppetry Teacher/Parent Resource books are the single most outstanding, well, resources, I’ve ever invested in for my kids. (So much so that though I don’t normally link to books, I am in this instance, that’s how much I want you to know about these.) They are normally sold individually but not right now (Suzanne is going through some COVID-related publishing woes) — that’s how I purchased each one, though I should have just bought the whole lot, because they are worth it. Are their appearances deceiving? Yes. Are you really getting a thin spiral-bound collection of stories, possibly printed from a local copy shop, and in need of good editing, formatting, and proof-reading? Yes, yes, and yes. None of that matters. The stories in each collection — and especially this collection, the fall one, which was our first and which remains my favorite of all (though not my children’s, who prefer Winter Tales, with Valentine Tales a close second) — are terrifically unique, gentle, captivating to young children, and full of wonder. That, above all else, is why they have been so important in our home: every morning at breakfast, often in the dark (it’s dark for months and months and months here), my children have listened with rapt attention to these sweet stories very much in the tradition of Waldorf, as lovingly told as any stories I’ve ever read, and been filled with wonder for nature, the seasons, and the world around us. The packaging here is humble, it truly is — it is, after all, only one woman’s effort to bring her art and talent into the world — but what’s inside is pure magic. I cannot recommend this enough.

Fall/Halloween/Thanksgiving books tend to run together a bit for me (though I keep them in different boxes, there is overlap, especially since it’s not uncommon for us to have snow in November). I will be doing a special edition issue for Halloween, and have not made up my mind about Thanksgiving. Nevertheless, here are a few additional fall books worth mentioning that are all applicable from September to December, depending on where you are:

Pippa and Pelle in the Autumn Wind by Daniela Drescher (the whole Pippa and Pelle seasonal series is really lovely for babies and toddlers — from Floris Books, one of my favorite publishers for children)
In the Land of Elves by Daniela Drescher
Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf by Lois Ehlert
It’s Pumpkin Time by Zoe Hall (a wonderful pair with Rockwell’s Apples and Pumpkins)
The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
When Autumn Comes by Robert Maass (nonfiction — lots of interesting photos)
Strega Nona Harvest by Tomie dePaola
Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
The Runaway Squash: An American Folktale retold by Gale Wiersum

Sending you not only revelry but also the mystery, the golden light, the promise of change, the comforting turning of it all, the magic of fall. 🍂

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