I Know It's Autumn: A Rhyming Picture Book About Leaves, Jack-o'-Lanterns, and Fall for Kids

by Eileen Spinelli, Nancy Hayashi (Illustrator)

I know it's autumn when
we rake the leaves in piles,
when doorstep jack-o'-lanterns
wear their crooked smiles ...

Leaves are falling, geese are flying, and warm coats are -- reluctantly -- being worn to school. That can mean only one thing: It's autumn!

Eileen Spinelli and Nancy Hayashi invite you to enjoy autumn's many delights -- from warm socks worn on chilly mornings to tempting piles of crackly leaves on the lawn -- in this sweet, funny look at fall.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction, Family, Poetry, Kids

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 27, 2004

About the author

Eileen Spinelli is an award-winning children's book author from southeastern Pennsylvania. She has written over 100 picture books and novels for children. Her husband is Jerry Spinelli, who also writes books for children.

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant, cozy read--but a bit like hot apple juice without the spice. Nothing too memorable. The rhymes felt a bit ponderous at times.
ETA: Read this with my children and I appreciated it more. It has a gentle quality and captures several nice moments in autumn family life. Bonus points for the multicultural and multigenerational family.

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

The narrator of this seasonal picture-book from author Eileen Spinelli and illustrator Nancy Hiyashi describes in rhyme all of the ways she knows when it's autumn. From shorter days to pumpkins muffins for breakfast, from cooler air to a return to school, there are many signs of the season, and the girl enjoys them all...

Given my own love for the autumnal season, and the fact that I enjoyed Wanda's Monster , another of Spinelli and Hiyashi's picture-book collaborations, I expected to enjoy I Know It's Autumn more than I did. Unfortunately, although it definitely has some appeal, I found the rhyming text a bit awkward. It wasn't the rhymes themselves that felt forced, but the overall rhythm of the piece. Somehow, as I read along, it felt more like a choppy list, than a smooth-flowing narrative of seasonal enjoyment. I did appreciate the fact that the family depicted is a mixed-race one, with a father who looks Japanese-American, and a mother who looks Euro-American. Although I do think there are better autumnal picture-books out there, tastes vary, so I'd recommend that picture-book readers looking for stories set at this time of year give it a try, and see if they feel differently.

[Afaf Ammar · Rating 4 out of 5]

قصة حلوة ودافئة كالخريف،
أحببتها كحبي للخريف الدافئ🧡🍂🍂🧡

"I know it's autumn when the morning light comes late,
when there is a pumpkin muffin on my breakfast plate,
when leafy trees turn colors red, gold and brown,
when we go picking apples for mom's apple pie,
and noisy geese fly south across the evening sky,
I know it's autumn when the moon is full and bright,
when we go on a hay ride with our friends at
night"

30.10.2021

[Luisa Knight · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Spinelli's delightful word choices and the fun aspects of autumn she chose to depict.

Ages: 4- 8

Cleanliness: nothing to note.

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[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

A simple read but it had nice illustrations that a young child can relate to and get excited about the special things that fall time brings. My four year old learned that fall can also be called autumn. She thought that was cool.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the simple story in rhyme which celebrates the coming of fall, but I was even more pleasently surprised to see that Nancy Hayashi (the illustrator) has depicted a multicultural family. Dad appears to be Asian and Mom appears to be Caucasian. There are other subtle images in the family's house which suggest that they are Japanese even though the setting really appears to be the American midwest or NE.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

Exactly what you think from the title. Heartfelt experiantial ways to mark the changing of the season.

[Ketutar Jensen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think the main character is supposed to be a Native American girl, but this book works for all American children. There are some details that won't work anywhere else in the world, like corn fields, Jacko lanterns, and school buses.
Or hay rides at night. Who drives hay around at night? I'm a country girl, to me "hay rides" are essentially connected to storing hay for the animals, and it's done in the afternoon, after a long day at the hay field, that's the last thing you do that day, and after the hay ride, you have to move the hay to the storage. But I suppose to most USonians hayride is something specifically arranged, and apparently done at nightfall or even at night, for the fun of it. The main character of this book is very small, in school already though, so... 6-8? Being up at night is not something for that small kids... on the other hand, I suppose the sun goes down at 6 or so, and it's pitch dark already at 7, and that's totally fine for even little kids... Ah. I'm talking too much. :-D That has nothing to do with this book.
It's a very nice book, with nice pictures, and makes me think about how I know it's Autumn. :-)

[Reade · Rating 3 out of 5]

I Know its Autumn is about all the things we love about the fall season and all the things that we get to do during this time. Between all the awesome things we get to do in the fall, it is hard to keep up. From picking apples for mom's apple pie, to raking leaves, making jack-o-lanterns, this book shows all the fun things that people do in the fall.
3 book topic ideas
1.) This is a good book to read in the fall and to talk about when fall is and what starts happening in the fall to the trees and other things.
2.) Student could cut out their own leaves and decorate them as well as describe the fall season in a poem or a couple sentences.
3.) Students could write a story about their lives in the fall and what fun things they do with their family and friends in the fall.

[Alyson Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

The main character goes through things that happen when it is autumn time. She observes everything around her and realizes the trend of things that happen around the same time every year. I would do a lesson with this book for preschoolers/kindergarteners. It is a good book to explain the season of autumn. An easy discussion about each season and what goes on during each would come about after reading this book.

[Emily Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an easy book with good illustrations about various fall activities. All throughout the book a girl describes various things she does when it is fall outside. This would be a good book for children to learn about different fall activities they may be able to do themselves. The illustrations are very detailed and do a good job in helping tell the story.

[Ari]

I Know It's Autumn is an amazing book about the season of summer turning to autumn. The book goes through all the joys of autumn, like the leaves falling from trees, geese migrating, coats being worn to school, and when doorsteps are filled with pumpkins. This book is a great introduction to a lesson about seasons.

[Arefa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars... A sweet rhyming story about autumn's many delights from warm socks and pumpkin muffins to leaf piles and jack-o-lanterns. This would be a good story to begin talking about the many things to possibly expect during the fall. This would be good for a preschool read aloud to introduce concepts of fall.

[DoRena · Rating 4 out of 5]

This may be one of my favorite books-about-autumn books, though I think my kids aren't as captivated (thus docking a star). My favorite page shows a mom with frantic eyebrows sipping something (Tea? Coffee?) while trying to comb her daughter's hair at the breakfast table, and it such a perfect capturing of a real-life morning I can't help but smile.

[Awjtf · Rating 4 out of 5]

wonderful book!

[Savannah Domeyer]

This books is about all things Autumn. The little girl in the book can tell that its Autumn because of all things that are happening.

[Kristin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sweet story and great illustrations!

[Susannah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book with intriguingly detailed illustrations evoking the social events and natural signs of autumn.

[Collin Duax]

I would love reading this book to the class. It teaches students what autumn is and about all the seasons.

[Mandi Simmons]

Leaves are falling, geese are flying, and warm coats are being worn to school.

[Emily Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

All the cozy elements of fall, but the book itself isn't spectacular.

[sincerely · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was fine

[Alyssa Arce]

This book is about leaves falling, geese flying, and warm coats being worn to school. In class I would have students write about their favorite thing during the autumn season.

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute book 📖 beautiful illustrations. I can't wait for Autumn.

[Miss Janis the Storytime Lady · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay. pretty standard fall fare

[TJE · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mom really liked this one, perfect fall book, Tea enjoyed but not as much as mom.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked that this one focused on one family's traditions around the fall season. It gives an opportunity for some compare and contrast with the reader's experiences.

[Becca Peterson · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about how you know that it is autumn. There are many different ways to identify that it is coming soon. The leaves start to change and students go back to School. You also know that it is fall when you need to start wearing your coat again.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

So September 22nd, is the first day of Autumn. Fun fact about me that is when I start reading books about Autumn/fall to my kids. The books range from fiction to non-fiction. I also stop reading them come October 1st because we all know the theme after October 1st is Halloween. So I got this book to read during Autumn.



"I Know It's Autumn" by Eileen Spinelli tells about different things that happen in autumn. Such as picking apples and pumpkins. Leaves are changing colors and falling to the ground. It's a sweet story but I felt like there was no story line to it. All three of my kids kept having their attention wander while I read the story and showed them the pictures. They did love the illustrations that Nancy Hayashi created for this book and how life like they are. All in I recommend reading this book but for a younger group of kids.

[Delicia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: creative nonfiction, fiction, picture book
Topic: autumn in the countryside
Theme: traditions, community, changing of the seasons
Illustrations: the illustrations confirm the text very well. They also add to the text, revealing details not mentioned in the actual words. The illustrations are very colorful and realistic. They depict a country setting where families work together and play together.
Reading level: Early
Use: read aloud, independent reading, guided reading
Literary Elements: poetic prose, rhyming, vivid descriptions

Thoughts:

I know it's autumn when
we rake the leaves in piles,
when doorstep jack-o'-lanterns
wear their crooked smiles ...
Leaves are falling, geese are flying, and warm coats are -- reluctantly -- being worn to school. That can mean only one thing: It's autumn!
Eileen Spinelli and Nancy Hayashi invite you to enjoy autumn's many delights -- from warm socks worn on chilly mornings to tempting piles of crackly leaves on the lawn -- in this sweet, funny look at fall.

I Know It's Autumn is a poetic look at the changes and traditions of fall in a rural environment. Each page of text features two to four lines of the poem. It contains vivid descriptions and illustrations that bring the realities of fall time in a rural area to life.

I Know It's Autumn is a good book for early readers. The text is large, black font on white backgrounds. Most of the words are one or two syllable words most of them high frequency words. The illustrations are highly supportive of the text.

I Know It's Autumn may be somewhat stereotypical in its depiction of fall, choosing to feature the positive traditions and customs that surround fall in rural areas. Students from rural areas (and many from urban areas) will love this book, however, as it matches what many of them experience each fall.