October 7, 2009
Favorite Children’s Book for Fall (So Far)
Ah, I love September and October. There is something about the change of seasons, the cooler but still temperate weather, going back to school, counting pumpkins on the front porches on our evening walk, baking apples, raking up the scarlet leaves…
As we acknowledge the arrival of my favorite time of year, I am inspired to find the *perfect* book that captures some of the sentiments of the season to read to my son at bedtime.
At our local Books Inc. on Monday I must have picked up ten different books about fall or Halloween. Nothing seemed to impress me until I found this one.
Over in the Hollow (cover)
Over in the Hollow by Rebecca Dickinson
The illustrations on the cover had me on the hook as soon as I picked it up. An adorable owl. An enormous harvest moon. A bat. A pair of Casper-esque ghosts.
I turned the pages.
The story mirrors the rhyming pattern of one of my all-time favorite bed time reads — Over in the Meadow.
The author’s dedication makes my maternal-spidey sense tingle:
“For my mother, who shared with me her love of reading and the lovely sounds of words strung together ‘just so.’”
It is published by Chronicle Books. I am a devoted fan. Their attention to detail is always impressive. Everything from the colors, to the fonts (”Whoa Nellie” is one of the fonts used for the quotes in the book, and it’s as cool as it sounds!), to full bleed on the illustrations’ layout, is well done.
The price tag? $15.99 (yep, I splurged, but did I mention I LOVE fall?)
I am not sure who loves it more, me or my five year old. But it held his attention the whole way through. I think he could sense my enthusiasm, as at one point he told me to read in a softer voice 
What are your favorite children’s books for fall?
The Great Pumpkin (Charlie Brown, Snoopy and the Gang)