October Books for Your Toddler's Book Nook

"I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers." - Anne of Green Gables

This is one of my favorite quotes and it's becasue there couldn't be a more truer statement. Ocotber is a beautiful time and it's my favorite month of the year!

That being said, as a lover of October and books, I consider it my civic duty to provide your family with some amazing reading resources.

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!

OCTOBER BOOKS FOR YOUR BOOK NOOK

The Leaf Thief: This is an adorable story about a squirrel who thinks someone is stealing his leaves. His good friend, Bird, helps him on the adventure of learning about how the seasons change and come to find that the wind is really the one taking the leaves from the tree. Our family loves this book and we rate it 9/10!

Too Many Pumpkins: It's the story of a woman who dislikes pumpkins because of the hardships of her childhood. One day, a pumpkin rolls off a truck and smashes in her front yard, planting hundreds of pumpkin seeds and leading her into a very unexpected surprise for the coming fall. We randomly stumbled upon this book and now it's one of our favorites! Rated 8/10.

Seed. Sprout. Pumpkin. Pie.: From the collection of National Geographic Kids, this book is filled full of real photos in which you learn about the life cycle of a pumpkin from the seed all the way to it's place in a delicious pumpkin pie! We love these books and find them to be very engaging for our kiddos, rated 10/10!

A Tree for All Seasons: Another great find from the National Geographic Kids books, this book takes us through the cycle of a tree as it experiences all four seasons. You learn about the weather, leaves, bugs in the tree, and so on. The real photos are very engaging for the kids and this was a well-loved book when I worked in the preschool and is now the same in our own home.

Apples and Pumpkins: Come along with a small family as they spend a beautiful fall day heading to a local farm to pick apples and pumpkins. The story describes visiting an apple orchard, pumpkin patch, carving a pumpkin, and going trick or treating. The illustrations are beautiful and it's a great simple story for fall. Our family rating is a solid 7/10.

Fletcher and the Falling Leaves: This book has earned its yearly spot on our shelf and I guarantee that you will fall in love with the story as soon as you read it. Fletcher is an adorable little fox who feels sad for his beloved tree as it loses its leaves. He tries to help keep the leaves on the tree and protect the tree from losing too many. It's a beautiful story of the season and eventually, Fletcher understands what's happening when he wakes up to a glittery surprise one morning. Our family LOVES this book, we rate it 10/10!

It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown: This is a yearly staple and we love the story of Charlie Brown at Halloween! One of my only issues with the book is the "harsh" language that can sometimes be used, but we do cover that and talk about it with our kids. We love this story and rate it 8/10!

Because of an Acorn: This is a really great book with beautiful illustrations that covers the cycle of the ecosystem. It talks about how a simple acorn can grow into a large oak tree which provides a home for birds and bugs, etc. I love to use this book when we are doing homeschool to help explain how everything is so interconnected. We love this book and rate it 9/10!

Picking Apples and Pumpkins: This is a really cute little story of a family who takes a day trip to a nearby farm to pick apples from the orchard and pumpkins kins from the patch. Later, when they go home, they carve the pumpkins and make fresh apple pie from the apples they picked. The photos are real pictures and I think that helps make the story a little more engaging for the kids. Again, this was a well-loved book in the preschool and now it's a well-loved book at home. We love it and rate it 10/10!

The Golden Acorn: This is a cute little book about a competitive squirrel who must learn the importance of teamwork and working together as he competes in a hunt for the Golden Acorn. This book is a good one and we give it a solid 7/10!

Richard Scarry's Halloween Cars and Trucks: We LOVE Richard Scarry in our house so this book has a well deserved place on our shelf. It's a cute little board book that's still engaging for my oldest (who is currently five). It takes you on the journey of exploring the different types of cars that exist in the world of Richard Scarry at Halloween. It's not a scary book, but it's cute and fun to look at all of the silly cars and trucks. We definitely rate this one 10/10!

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 Thanksgiving Book Nook next and you don't want to miss it! Thanks for stopping by and I'll see ya again real soon.

SB