Kids love fall. It’s fun to read about the changing season, watch the leaves turning colors, go on hayrides, and hunt for the perfect pumpkin while sipping hot apple cider.
Who doesn’t love celebrating the harvest with loads of mashed potatoes and gravy, macaroni and cheese, rolls fresh from the oven, and desserts galore?
Fall cookbooks and stories are a great way to involve kids in the festivities whether you’re a die-hard fan of stories about the first Thanksgiving or just a grateful recipient of the fall harvest.
There are fantasies and fall romances to appeal to YA readers. We’ve selected ten books to help your kids and teens enjoy November.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving by Charles Schultz – I loved the Peanuts gang when I was a child. I shared them with my kids and now my grandson. Join Charlie Brown as he works to create a meaningful Thanksgiving for his friends despite every conceivable obstacle. For ages 2-7, but who am I kidding EVERYONE loves Charlie Brown!
In November by Cynthia Rylant – This lyrical Thanksgiving picture book captures the excitement and wonder surrounding the change of seasons and Thanksgiving. For ages 3-8
Ballons Over Broadway by Melissa Sweet – This inspiring true story is about the master puppeteer who invented the first balloons for the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. For ages 4-8
Squanto’s Journey: The Story of the First Thanksgiving by Joseph Bruchac – Bruchac is a highly acclaimed Abenaki children’s book author, poet, novelist, storyteller, and scholar of Native American culture. He tells the story of Squanto and his service to the pilgrims after the Mayflower landed and the feast of thanks after their first year. For ages 6-9
Aunt Minty and the House That Keeps Growing by Anna Kalmykova – Everyday Aunt Minty’s house on Laurel street grows a new room. It might be a room for laughter, a winter garden, or a pond for sailboats. One day her house stops growing. Can Minty, her cat Rosmarinus, and the neighborhood children solve this mystery and bring back the heart of this home? For ages 7-12
The Winter of the Dollhouse by Laura Amy Schlitz – On a gloomy November evening, eleven-year-old Tiph helps an elderly woman who collapses in street downtown. From a store window, a doll named Gretel watches and makes a wish that Tiph will rescue her, too. Is there magic in kindness? For ages 9-12
The November Girl by Lydia Kang – A supernatural being on an isolated island must choose between the monster she seems destined to become or protecting her only human friend. For ages 12 and up
Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes – Doctors trying to increase human intelligence are encouraged by their experiments on a lab mouse named Algernon. Charlie, a mentally disabled man, becomes the first human subject to volunteer for the surgery. After the surgery, his intelligence surpasses his doctors, but when Algernon begins to regress, Charlie knows it’s only a matter of time before he does, too. How will he cope with losing the thing he’s always wanted? For ages 14 and up
National Geographic National Parks Cookbook by Nina Elder and Melissa Knific – One hundred recipes inspired by the lodges, restaurants throughout America’s 63 National Parks system using ingredients plentiful in each area. For families of all ages
The Peanuts Family Cookbook: Delicious Dishes for Kids to Make with Their Favorite Grown-ups by Weldon Owen – Fifty delicious breakfast, lunch, and “suppertime” recipes for junior chefs and their adult counterparts to make and enjoy. Also contains 75 classic comic strips and original illustrations. For families of all ages