Read Alouds Archives - So Blessed to Be a Teacher

Five Fun Fall Picture Books to Read Aloud

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Leaves are changing, temps are dropping, terrifying decorations are adorning my neighbors’ yards, and pumpkin spice everything has been in full force for two months – yup, we’re smack in the middle of fall! Autumn may not be my favorite season weatherwise, and I’m NOT into spooky stuff, but I do enjoy sharing some light fall read alouds with the students in my school library!

There are so many wonderful books set in autumn, but to keep this post short and sweet, I picked five favorites to highlight today.

Leif and the Fall

I love the book Leif and the Fall by Allison Sweet Grant and Adam Grant. It’s the story of Leif, a leaf who is afraid to fall to the ground. With the help of his friend Laurel, Leif designs numerous inventions to keep himself from falling or to brace his fall, but none of them works as he hopes they will, and he ends up discarding them all on the ground. When he can hold on no longer and the wind finally whisks him from the tree, he is surprised by what he discovers when he lands. This is a great story, and its wonderful lesson is especially appropriate if you incorporate STEAM into your library classes.

The Leaf Thief

The Leaf Thief: (The Perfect Fall Book for Children and Toddlers)

The Leaf Thief by Alice Hemming tells the story of a squirrel who is certain that there is a THIEF on the loose who is STEALING his leaves. With wonderful illustrations and captivating dialogue between the squirrel and his wise bird friend, this story is perfect for students in kindergarten and first grade! (Want some FREE learning resources to go with this book? Download a freebie from my TpT store that includes math and literacy printables that your students can use after reading this story!)

Fall is Not Easy

Fall Is Not Easy

This short read aloud by Marty Kelley always delights my students! It is the story of a tree whose leaves always turn colors in wacky patterns! Instead of turning all red or orange like the other trees, this tree’s leaves change colors to resemble a soccer ball, hamburger, smiley face, and more. After reading this story, I give students a chance to draw their own trees that have changed colors in unusual and fun patterns. I have used this book with kids from Preschool through third grade over the years, and it is always seems to be a hit! (Sadly, it is out of print, so if you happen to find an inexpensive copy available on Amazon, snatch it up! Otherwise, check your local public library or a used book store!)

The Pumpkin Patch Parable

The Pumpkin Patch Parable: Special Edition (Parable Series)

I discovered The Pumpkin Patch Parable by Liz Curtis Higgs last year and knew it would be a great fit for my preschool class in the Catholic school where I teach! The preschoolers have a farm-themed week in their classroom in early October, and The Pumpkin Patch Parable is a perfect story to end the week and tie in with their theme. The book explains the steps a farmer takes to grow and harvest his crops, how to carve a pumpkin, and at the end, the author brings the story to another level by encouraging listeners to let God’s light shine through them just as a jack o’ lantern lights up the dark night. I enjoy reading it to the preschool students in my library, and it would also be a great gift for Christian children at this time of year in families who may be looking for a “not scary” story to celebrate the fall season.

Little Acorn

Little Acorn by Melanie Joyce is another story that I added to my read aloud repertoire for preschool library class last year. It chronicles the story of an acorn who falls to the ground, is hidden underground by a squirrel, and grows into an oak tree. The book explains the life cycle of an oak tree in rhyming verse, and those little acorn illustrations by Gina Maldonado Ruiz are just so cute!

I hope you decide to share some of my fall favorites with your students in your classroom or library!

If you are looking for resources to teach library skills this autumn, feel free to visit some of my other fall-themed blog posts such as this post where I have a FREE skeleton-themed book care worksheet for you to download, or this one with links to some of the first fall library TpT products I designed!

Or, check out this apple-themed library resource in my TpT Store:

I hope your students enjoy reading and learning their way through fall!

Back-to-School Read Alouds for the School Library

(Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links, and if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

Some of my first priorities when I begin the school year in my elementary library are helping to build my school’s culture of kindness and sharing my love of books with the students.

In keeping with these goals, the first few stories that I share with my elementary students are centered around social emotional learning, the wonder of libraries, and book care.

Here are a few of my favorite books that I have read aloud to students at the beginning of the school year!

Kindness is a Kite String

Kindness is a Kite String: The Uplifting Power of Empathy

Kindness is a Kite String is a sweet book by Michelle Schaub about how kindness can change the world, one small kind act at a time. I like to read this one to the second graders.

The Day You Begin

I love this book by Jacqueline Woodson! This is one of the few books during the year that I actually do not read aloud to the kids myself, but instead I love to share the Youtube video of the author reading it. There is something so soothing and kind about her voice that sets a tone of peace and acceptance, and I love to get the kids thinking about the power authors have to share stories.

The Invisible Boy

This book by Trudy Ludwig shares the story of Brian, a quiet boy who feels invisible among the students in his noisy classroom. The book promotes inclusion, kindness, and celebrating our differences. From a library lesson perspective, it is also a great book for talking about the important role of an illustrator, since the unique illustrations by Patrice Barton tell us a lot about how Brian is feeling throughout the story.

The Good Egg

Kids love these books in “The Food Group” by Jory John, and I like reading The Good Egg at the beginning of the year because it addresses social-emotional learning in an accessible, fun way. This story speaks to students who struggle with stress and perfectionism and sends positive messages about kindness, self-care, and acceptance.

The Library Bus

I see the beginning of the year as an opportunity to give my students some perspective on the importance of books and the role libraries play around the world. The Library Bus by Bahram Ramham is a wonderful book that I love to share with upper elementary students as a reminder of how blessed my students are to have access to education and so many shelves of books.

Waiting for the Biblioburro

Set in a different part of the world, but with similar themes to The Library Bus, Waiting for the Biblioburro is another great story that shows that access to books is not universal or uniform around the world. I hope that sharing this story with my upper elementary students at the start of the school year inspires them to really dive into our school library and all it has to offer.

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The Book That Jake Borrowed

Switching gears, this silly story by Susan Kralovansky is perfect for your beginning of school book care lessons! Check out another post I wrote specifically about The Book that Jake Borrowed for more information and a printable freebie to go with the book!

Mr. Wiggle’s Book

This book about a cute bookworm is an oldie-but-goodie by Paula M. Craig and Carol L. Thompson that my students look forward to each year! Reading it is a perfect way to start the year and remind students to develop good book care habits. It’s out of print, though, so if you happen to click the link and a used copy happens to be available, grab it, because they are hard to come by!

I also read its companion, Mr. Wiggle Loves to Read, to my students as well.

If you are looking for resources to go along with these back-to-school books, feel free to check out some that I use in my library at the beginning of the school year:

I hope this post has helped you find a couple of new titles to try in your school library! Feel free to keep the conversation going and share one of your favorite start-of-school read alouds in the comments!

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Back-to-School Book Care with The Book That Jake Borrowed

(Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links, and if you click through and make a purchase, I will receive compensation at no additional cost to you.)

Don’t you just LOVE those first few library lessons of the year? Getting to meet new students and see the sweet faces of returning students is *priceless*!

During the past couple of years, I have included The Book That Jake Borrowed by Susan Kralovansky as one of my first read alouds for my first and second graders. Reminiscent of the classic tale “The House that Jack Built,” this story has a “library book care” twist that makes it wonderful for little library learners. It tells the story of the misadventures of a book that a boy named Jake checked out from the library. Unfortunately, Jake does NOT take good care of the book he has borrowed. Throughout the course of the story, the library book has run-ins with a dog, a cat, a rat, and some jelly!

The kids really enjoy this book because it includes great moments for them to join in with me as I read. The students LOVE yelling out, “Oh no!” and making animal noises throughout the story.

To make the interactive aspect of the story even more fun, I created little “cue cards” to help make the students aware of when it is their turn to say their lines. I select five “helpers” to stand with me as I’m reading the story, and I cue each of them to hold up their sign when it’s time for the students in the class to say their line. The helpers AND all the other students always find this read aloud SO MUCH FUN!

You can visit Susan Holt Kralovansky’s website for free resources to go with the story…

…and I have created a FREE DOWNLOAD FOR YOU that contains the cue cards I use with my students as well as a word search to go with The Book That Jake Borrowed!

(Btw, if you are teaching your students about book care, I also recommend the following book care coloring pages, available in my Teachers Pay Teachers store. This has been one of my most popular products this Back to School season!)

*Book Care Coloring Pages, available in my TpT store!*

And, for more book care resources, please go ahead and visit one of my previous posts, where I have another book care freebie for you!

I wish you an amazing new school year! (And … I wish that no that library books that have had any interaction with dogs, cats, rats, or jelly are returned to your library!)