If you’re looking for French children’s books that will enable your toddler, preschooler, or kindergartener to discover the wonders of the fall season, here is a list of French kids’ books we’re looking forward to reading this autumn.
Related: French books for children: What we’re reading this winter
Fall books for children in French – Livres pour enfants sur l’automne
Disclosure: Please note that I have included Amazon affiliate links. If you click through and make a purchase, I will earn a commission (at no extra cost to you).
Le voleur de feuilles by Alice Hemming
This hilarious book is about an anxious little squirrel who, one day, notices that one of his leaves is missing. He goes out to investigate. Did the mouse take his leaf? His friend, Bird, explains that it’s normal to lose a few leaves around this time of the year, but as more leaves disappear, Squirrel is not reassured. He even begins to suspect that Bird is the thief! But who is it? The voleur (thief) is everywhere, shaking the trees and taking away the leaves, and it’s even stealing people’s hats! Can you guess who it is?
While packed with humour, this book also contains information about the seasons that your child will love learning about.
This book reminds me of the Éléphant et Rosie series by Mo Willems. What do you think?
La Citrouille Roulante by Junia Wonders
A wonderful book about a rollaway pumpkin to read with your little pumpkin. It’s a whimsical introduction to suspense for kiddos, as we wonder what will happen as Marla Petite’s pumpkin rolls through town. The book introduces kids to various professions: a farmer, baker, milkman, butcher, as they join the young girl in chasing after her giant squash. How will the story end?
Related: Halloween in French: Peppa Pig’s La fête de l’Halloween
J’explore le monde: Les arbres by Marfe Ferguson Delano
I bought this book for my daughter last year, but she was a bit too young for it. This year, she’s showing much more interest in understanding the life cycle of plants since we did some planting this spring and she got to see how tiny little grains turned into plants in the summer.
J’explore le monde: Les arbres takes our readers on a special journey through the seasons as a little acorn becomes a giant oak tree. Unlike the other books on this list, instead of illustrations, it features beautiful photographs of squirrels, birds, and other creatures that thrive around the oak tree.
L’ours et les feuilles by David Ezra Stein
This beautiful story of a cub and leaves takes you through the bear’s very first fall, winter, and spring. As the leaves of the trees around him start to turn from green to red and yellow and begin to fall, the cub starts to worry about these new changes. He tries to catch the falling leaves and put them back in their place, but things are not the same. Suddenly, he feels very sleepy and finds a place to sleep. He makes it comfortable using all the leaves he finds and sleeps through the winter as a thick layer of snow covers the ground. When he wakes up in the spring, he notices the small buds on the tree branches. Soon, they grow, and he is reunited with the leaves as he knew them.
Unfortunately, this book is either extremely expensive on Amazon (so I don’t recommend buying it there) and unavailable at Chapters Indigo, the two main places I shop for French books. Luckily, I am able to submit requests for books at our library, so I requested this title for purchase. It’s worth checking if your library will purchase it for you.
What French children’s books are on your shelves this fall?
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