November Books for Your Toddler's Book Nook

I know you were expecting me to jump from a Halloween Book Nook, but that's not gonna happen. We take it nice and slow around here and are still very much enjoying the coziness of fall.

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays and in the weeks leading up to the holiday, we are practicing little ways of gratitude. If you want to hear more on that, you can click here for the full post.

That being said, let's start chatting about our November Book Nook! This one is a little more simple, it's not overflowing with books and the ones we do choose to use are mainly focused on Thanksgiving or gratitude.

If you're interested in growing your library, don't worry, I have you covered. HERE is the link to shop all of the books I'm about to cover, but I will also encourage you to shop from a second hand bookstore if you're able. There's just something so special about having a book that's not in perfect condition and has been loved well by another family.

Alright, let's get to the good part! Let's talk books!

NOVEMBER BOOKS FOR YOUR BOOK NOOK

A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: This one is a no brainer! We love Charlie Brown and all of their holiday movies. If you've seen the Thanksgiving movie, then you'll love the book because it follows it along pretty closely. In case you don't know the story, it's the story of Charlie Brown and his crew of friends and how they put together a special little Thanksgiving dinner of their own. Our family rates it 9/10.

Thanksgiving, Here I Come!: This is an adorable book full of poems that cover the bases on all Thanksgiving traditions from the parade to cooking with family to having leftovers! The poems are simple, sweet, and very easy for the kids to understand. The book also comes with a page full of Thanksgiving stickers on the last page. Our family rates it 9/10.

The Berenstain Bears Give Thanks: Another great book to add to your Berenstain Bear collection! Come along with the Bear Family as they prepare for Thanksgiving and for Brother and Sister to take their place in the school play that talks about the first Thanksgiving. It's a great book and also comes with discussion questions at the end. Our family rates it 8/10.

The Berenstain Bears Harvest Festival: The farm in Bear Country is hosting a Harvest Festival and the Bear family decides to go. There are so many activities from apple picking to pumpkin picking to gathering together for a large community feast. There are a lot of whimsical nods to autumn and it's a sweet read. Our family rates it 8/10.

Franklin's Thanksgiving: Franklin is feeling sad as the Thanksgiving holiday approaches because his grandparents will be traveling and not able to spend the holiday with family. Franklin is looking forward to having a full table for Thanksgiving so he decides to invite some of his friends and creates a memorable holiday. Our family rates it 7/10.

I Am Thankful: This book takes us through the different aspects of the Thanksgiving holiday from cleaning the house before family comes to being excited to see siblings who have gone to school to creating holiday crafts to cooking a big meal together. It's an adorable, rhyming story that follows three different families as they celebrate Thanksgiving with their own traditions. Our family rates it 9/10.

Thanksgiving is for Giving Thanks: This is a more simple read and is best for young readers or a kiddo who is just learning to read! The illustrations are soft and simple which matches the story perfectly. It takes us through the Thanksgiving holiday talking about how there is so much to be thankful for and continues to find a lot of every day things that kids can understand and appreciate. Our family rates it 7/10.

The Night Before Thanksgiving: This is one of our favorites! We love all of the "Night Before . . ." books in this collection. The book follows the beat of the well-known Christmas poem and takes you through the events of the night before Thanksgiving and all of the preparations before family arrives. Our family rates it 10/10.

A Very Thankful Prayer: A sweet and simple book that helps your kids to thank God for all of the blessings like autumn, food, friends, and more! It's a faith-based book with a really beautiful meaning. Our family rates it 10/10.

Thanksgiving in the Woods: First of all, the illustrations are stunning and very cozy! Second of all, this book takes you through an annual outdoor Thanksgiving feast celebrating family, friendship, and gratitude. This is our first year with this one, so we'll see if it's a solid keeper. I won't be able to rate it, but I'll update next year!

Balloons Over Broadway: This is the story of the puppeteer's creative journey to inventing the iconic giant balloons that now float down New York City's streets in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. It's a cool story that can help the kids to better connect with the parade on Thanksgiving morning. This is our first year with this one, so we'll see if it's a solid keeper. I won't be able to rate it, but I'll update next year!

How to Catch a Turkey: I've heard so many good things about this book and I know a lot of people love it! It's the story of a turkey who escapes before a Thanksgiving Day play. Follow the kids as they endure on a hilarious journey to find the turkey that's escaped! This is our first year with this one, so we'll see if it's a solid keeper. I won't be able to rate it, but I'll update next year!

I hope this gives you a solid place to start as you create an intentional book nook for your kiddos this fall. Doing this for my kids is one of my favorite things and it's also really nice to be able to switch out the books as needed.

The Importance of Switching Out Books

Whether you have a seasonal shelf in your playroom or in each of your kid's rooms, there are SO many benefits to switching out your books with the changing seasons. First of all, it helps your kids to have a better understanding of the structure of the year and the different things you get to do or experience within that time. Second of all, it really helps to keep your books fresh and lively versus reading the same books all of the time.

How We Store Our Seasonal Books

I have a bunch of small buckets (which I'll link HERE) that house our seasonal books and I store them in our game closet, but you could also store them in the garage. I have a bucket for each big season or holiday- Spring, Easter, Summer, Fall, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and so on. I store everything I need for the seasonal shelf in the bucket and each bucket is labeled so it's easy to find. You could also use large ziplock bags depending on how many books you have (you don't need a lot of books in order for this to feel special).

When it Comes to Buying Books

Let's state the obvious- books can be really expensive. That's why I always try to link new books that are $10 or less (when or where I can) because I know how crazy expensive it can be. This is also why I encourage you to shop at a used bookstore or consignment sale when possible! Many of our books are not new and have been purchased second hand, so don't forget to look for seasonal books the next time you go thrifting! Sometimes you can find them for as low as $1 each.

Setting Up the Book Nook

Our current Book Nook is shown here and it's located on a wall in our playroom. It was super easy to put together, but I also want you to know that it didn't start out this way. Our seasonal books started out as a simple basket in the boy's room with the right books for the season or holiday. As they got older and we moved to a new house, I decided to make a more permanent space which is where we are today.

I found the baskets on Amazon and this was probably the most important part because you want to make sure you're finding baskets that are sturdy enough to hold a lot of books. The baskets I use and would recommend are linked with the books and come in a set of four.

Once I have those in place, I add a few simple things to make it a little more festive. A seasonal banner, from the one and only Hunny Prints, hangs above the books and I usually try to add another element for the season like a garland, etc.

This is a super easy thing you can do to magnify the magic of each holiday or season and once you fall into a routine, it may just become your new favorite thing. As always, if you have any questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to me.

Stay tuned because I'll be sharing our Christmas Book Nook next and you don't want to miss it! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see ya again real soon.

SB