I absolutely love reading books related to the time of year and the season of Autumn and Halloween is a perfect time to engage your little one in books. As the seasons change around them, we can support our children’s observations and enhance their learning through books. They will be seeing all sorts of Halloween related things around in the shops, at Nursery, on the TV so books can be used to extend their knowledge, understanding and build their vocabulary with topical related words such as leaf, acorn, conker, pumpkin, bats and witches. You don’t need to make it scary or anything related to religion or the celebration of ‘All Saints Day/All Hallows.’ Instead, it’s an opportunity to get creative and spark your little one’s imaginations.
One of the Early Years Foundation Stage areas of learning is ‘Creativity and Imagination.’
“Creative experiences build powerful connections within the brain. Creativity is associated with focus, independence, a willingness to explore and ingenuity. As children develop their imagination and creativity, they are able to tell a story, relate to other people, keep themselves emotionally grounded and enter their imaginary worlds.”
So here’s my recommendations for books that will help shape your little ones creativity and imagination:
Autumn
I really love the beauty of autumn and these two books have absolutely stunning illustrations. The pictures inside are full of autumnal colours and scenes. Great for opening up discussions with your little one about the change in season which is upon us.
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- The Leaf Thief by Nicola Slater tells a tale of a little squirrel on the hunt for his lost leaf which he believes to have been stolen. He sets off on a mission to find the culprit, meeting lots of woodland creatures along the way!
- Tidy by Emily Gravett is a funny rhyming woodland story about Pete the badger, who likes everything to be neat and tidy at all times. It’s explores the idea of keeping our forests tidy whilst allowing nature to grow so we can admire its beauty.
Halloween
“We’re going on a pumpkin hunt, we’re going to find a big one, what beautiful night…”
My daughter started retelling this story and I didn’t even realise this book existed! She’d heard it at preschool and could quote parts word for word. I then looked it up and it’s a fantastic book to follow on from ‘We’re going on a Bear Hunt’
- Gustavo the Shy Ghost by Flavia Z. Drago has such a lovely storyline that breaks the traditional depiction of ghosts being scary, as instead he’s shy but by being his true self he’s able to make friends. A lovely message for our children to hear.
- Hey Duggee’s Spooky Halloween flap book is a great way to introduce Halloween in an engaging way to our youngest little ones. If like my youngest daughter your little one is obsessed with Duggee then reading a book with recognisable characters in is another great way to engage our little ones in books.
- Pick a Pumpkin by Patricia Toht – this is my favourite Halloween book as I absolutely love the illustrations. As a family we really enjoy visiting the pumpkin patch and this book tells the story of a family doing just that. They then bring their pumpkins home to carve and there’s some great imagery, which can give you inspiration for your own pumpkin carvings. I also love the way the book depicts Halloween as a fun celebration to have with friends. If you’re planning any get to togethers over the Halloween season or a visit to the pumpkin patch and you want to help prepare your little one, this is great book for any children who may be anxious experiencing new things. Reading books is a great way to reduce anxiety as children can see what they are going to be experiencing before doing it for themselves.
- Meg and Mog by Helen Nicoll- is an absolute classic! This book is full of amazing rhyming words and onomatopoeia like BANG, CRASH and CRACK which are great to read aloud and for children to start to copy. The high contrast colours and bold images make this book brilliant for young babies, whose eyes are still developing, to look at too.
- Room on the Broom by Julia Donaldson is a story all about a witch who sets off on adventure on her broomstick picking up characters along the way. I am a huge Julia Donaldson fan as her stories are written in way that makes them so enjoyable to read aloud as the words rhyme and flow you can really get stuck in bringing this to life.
Amazon Links
We’re Going on a Pumpkin Hunt!