Here are 100 books that The Leaf Thief fans have personally recommended if you like
The Leaf Thief.
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I grew up in London, close to Richmond Park, where I got to know many of the characters who have since popped up in my stories. I bird-watched, caterpillar-collected, and pond-dipped, and my bedroom had a floating population of minibeasts. My first picture book, Fred and the Little Egg, was about a bear cub trying to hatch an acorn, and my stories have continued to reflect my love of nature. My Fletcher’s Four Seasons series follows a kind-hearted fox cub as he explores his wood through the changing seasons. I hope my books will inspire children to explore and care for the natural world too.
There’s a leaf-collecting hedgehog in Fletcher and the Falling Leaves, and Say Hi to Hedgehogs! teaches you more about these wonderful animals, following a hedgehog’s story through the seasons. I love everything about this book – the illustrations are beautiful, with a ridiculously cute hedgehog family, magical night scenes, and cosy autumn and winter pages; I learnt some fascinating hedgehog facts from the notes scattered through the story; and the book even includes tips for making your home hedgehog-friendly.
With words and pictures by a debut author-illustrator, this is a new Nature Storybook about a very popular little animal - the hedgehog.
A delightful Nature Storybook about hedgehogs from debut author-illustrator Jane McGuinness. There's someone we'd like you to meet - someone small and spiky. Say hi to Hedgehog! Follow this lovely little creature through the year and learn what hedgehogs like to eat, how they hunt for their food, where they build their nests, the time it takes for them grow from tiny hoglets into healthy adults and, as the seasons turn, how they prepare for hibernation. The…
I grew up in London, close to Richmond Park, where I got to know many of the characters who have since popped up in my stories. I bird-watched, caterpillar-collected, and pond-dipped, and my bedroom had a floating population of minibeasts. My first picture book, Fred and the Little Egg, was about a bear cub trying to hatch an acorn, and my stories have continued to reflect my love of nature. My Fletcher’s Four Seasons series follows a kind-hearted fox cub as he explores his wood through the changing seasons. I hope my books will inspire children to explore and care for the natural world too.
I love quiet stories and this one is beautiful, exploring how animals survive in the winter woods through the relationship between a boy and his grandmother. We quickly follow the changing seasons from summer to winter and discover that although the winter woods may seem bare, life is tucked snugly out of sight waiting for Busy Spring (a companion book by the same team). A cosy story, gorgeous illustrations, and lots of nature facts, both in the story and the fact-packed pages at the end.
In this cozy bedtime story, follow a child and his grandma through a winter landscape to explore how the Earth goes to sleep for winter.
Spot the sleeping animals as the tale unfolds, then learn about their hibernation habits from the information pages at the end.
Co-authors Sean Taylor (picture book author) and Alex Morss (ecologist, journalist, and educator) offer a gentle introduction to the concept of hibernation. In the frosty, quiet forest, the snow blankets the ground and the trees have shed their leaves. Where have all the animals gone? Are they asleep too?
I grew up in London, close to Richmond Park, where I got to know many of the characters who have since popped up in my stories. I bird-watched, caterpillar-collected, and pond-dipped, and my bedroom had a floating population of minibeasts. My first picture book, Fred and the Little Egg, was about a bear cub trying to hatch an acorn, and my stories have continued to reflect my love of nature. My Fletcher’s Four Seasons series follows a kind-hearted fox cub as he explores his wood through the changing seasons. I hope my books will inspire children to explore and care for the natural world too.
A gloriously illustrated mixture of nature facts, poetry, and things to do, this book is like my childhood squished between covers, taking in pond-dipping, caterpillar-hatching, rock-pooling, worm-watching and so much more as it guides you through the seasons. I would have loved this book as a child, and still love it now.
An exquisite book that evokes a child's first experience of nature.
From beachcombing to stargazing, from watching squirrels, ducks and worms to making berry crumble or a winter bird feast, this is a remarkable book - part poetry, part scrapbook of recipes, facts and fragments - and a glorious reminder that the natural world is on our doorstep waiting to be discovered. Mark Hearld's pictures beautifully reproduce the colours of the seasons on woodfree paper, and Nicola Davies' lyrical words capture the simple loveliness that is everywhere, if only we can look.
I grew up in London, close to Richmond Park, where I got to know many of the characters who have since popped up in my stories. I bird-watched, caterpillar-collected, and pond-dipped, and my bedroom had a floating population of minibeasts. My first picture book, Fred and the Little Egg, was about a bear cub trying to hatch an acorn, and my stories have continued to reflect my love of nature. My Fletcher’s Four Seasons series follows a kind-hearted fox cub as he explores his wood through the changing seasons. I hope my books will inspire children to explore and care for the natural world too.
There’s so much to look at in this beautiful book which follows a tree through the seasonal cycle. The gentle rhyming text is accompanied by colourful peek-through illustrations, with an owl cleverly joined by more and more woodland animals as the seasons turn towards midsummer’s night. I had to read this one again and again, following not just the tree but the foxes, birds, and even a spider’s web through the seasons.
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author picked
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This book is for kids age
3,
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6.
What is this book about?
Watch the tree change with the seasons as each page is turned in this beautiful and educational book for curious young minds.
New York Public Library’s 100 Best Books for Kids 2016
Through a hole in the book’s cover, an owl invites you inside to meet a majestic tree and all its forest inhabitants during the changing seasons. With clever peekaboo holes throughout, each page reveals a new set of animals playing and living in the tree—baby bears frolicking in the spring, bees buzzing around apples in the summer, squirrels storing nuts in the fall, and finally the lone owl…
I grew up in rural Missouri, where my best friends were horses, dogs, cats, ducks, and an occasional squirrel or injured bird. I developed rhyming and rhythm at an early age, and I got my first newspaper byline with a rhyming opinion piece. When I grew up, I became a writer. Then, when I had kids, I discovered the joy of writing children’s books, starting with rhyming board books and animals. To date, I’ve had over 500 books published, with at least one rhyming book annually for the past 40 years. The joy comes from writing my heart—my love for animals, rhyme, children, and God (not in that order).
All kinds of God’s creatures sense the coming of fall as poetic language teaches young readers multiple animal and people truths. Kids will discover the joy of sensing the clues of nature and the signs that forecast changing seasons. It’s fun to guess which animal will be first to figure out the “mystery.”
The author uses ordinal numbers in a natural way, teaching first, second, third, etc., and teaching counting skills as well. I love the simple illustrations of animals acting the way each animal really acts. It’s a power-packed little book, weaving together a fall joy. And the more a parent reads the book, the more the child learns.
The apples are ripe! Which animal will be first to know? Or second? Or third? Inspire young readers to notice the arrival of fall with ordinal numbers in this beautifully illustrated picture book.
Nature gives us many signs of the changing seasons, if we pay attention and use our senses like animals do. Author Laurie Nazzaro Knowlton's poetic language seamlessly weaves together the arrival of fall, animal communication, and counting with ordinal numbers. Steph Marshall's bright, bold illustrations capture the animals' actions as they enjoy a fall feast.
Perfect as a read-aloud for fall story times and preschool and kindergarten…
I grew up in a farming community where everyone understood where our food comes from; we were all either farmers or related to farmers. I’ve since discovered that is not the case everywhere. Many kids honestly believe our food comes from grocery stores. Those that have been told our food is grown, are still unfamiliar with the extent of our reliance on agriculture—not just for food, but clothing; building and cleaning supplies; sports equipment; fuel; and so much more! They also don’t understand the amount of time and hard work (even technology) required to grow, harvest, and process the plants used to create their favorite foods. Hopefully these books—mine included—will help.
I first discovered Time for Cranberries when looking for comparative titles for my own book.
But where mine follows the growth and harvest cycle of pecans, Lisl’s follows the harvest process for cranberries—from field to Thanksgiving table (though like my book, hers is not a holiday title). Like me, Lisl, wrote her story from personal experience, and includes all the sights and sounds of the cranberry harvest.
I love that she includes the child narrator in the process in a way that is both authentic and safe, and uses a refrain to tie the narrative together—boy, I didn’t realize just how comparative our stories were until just this moment! Maybe, someday the two of us can meet in person.
From the cranberry bog to the Thanksgiving table, join Sam and his family as they harvest a classic American fruit.
When the vines hang heavy with berries that the autumn winds have turned deep red, it's time for cranberries, and Sam is finally old enough to help with the harvest! This charming, lyrical picture book follows Sam and his family as they raise the water in the bog, pick the cranberries, and gather the fruit for processing. It's a story of modern family farming in action, showing readers where their food comes from but mostly delighting them along the way.
A delightful and distinctive picture book biography about Dr. Virginia Apgar, who invented the standard, eponymous test for evaluating newborn health used worldwide thousands of times every day.
You might know about the Apgar Score. But do you know the brilliant, pioneering woman who invented it? Born at the turn…
I’m a Tokyo-based writer who first came to Japan during university to live with a host family and study the language. After a stint in Shanghai, Japan brought me back in 2012 and I’ve lived here ever since. I’ve cycled across remote Okinawan islands, wandered Kyoto’s cobblestone lanes, and trekked to mountaintop temples in heavy snow. But some of my best memories have happened over homemade plum wine at a friend’s dinner table. I’ve written two books published by Moon Travel Guides and countless articles on Asia, with some being chosen for “best of” lists by The Washington Post, The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, andReal Clear World.
When it comes to the seasons, Japan often conjures images of the pink, transient wave of cherry blossoms that ripples through the islands each spring. Iyer, however, suggests in this mature follow-up toThe Lady and the Monk that autumn, with its blazing yellow ginkos and red maples, is when Japan’s essence most clearly shines through. He brings us into a sleepy corner of Nara where he lives with his wife Hiroko, plays ping-pong with spry local seniors, and grapples with the decline of his mother-in-law and sudden loss of his father-in-law. At its core, this is a book about ageing, time, and the quintessentially Japanese knack for seeing beauty in impermanence. Having cycled through more than a decade of autumns in Japan myself, Iyer’s musings ring true.
In this “exquisite personal blend of philosophy and engagement, inner quiet and worldly life" (Los Angeles Times), an acclaimed author returns to his longtime home in Japan after his father-in-law’s sudden death and picks up the steadying patterns of his everyday rites, reminding us to take nothing for granted.
In a country whose calendar is marked with occasions honoring the dead, Pico Iyer comes to reflect on changelessness in ways that anyone can relate to: parents age, children scatter, and Iyer and his wife turn to whatever can sustain them as everything falls away. As the maple leaves begin to…
I’ve always been fascinated by things paranormal and supernatural. There is so much in the “real” world that we don’t understand and can’t prove their existence, but there is enough video and photos, as well as stories, that I don’t see how we can say there’s not more beyond our five senses. Many of my own books center on paranormal abilities and events, and I do love reading about them as well!
This book is also set in an ordinary world in a small Georgia town (I think it’s Georgia!), with an extraordinary family whose lineage has women with magical powers. The townsfolk know about the “odd” family, but they aren’t wholly shunned. Each woman has her own vulnerabilities and life journey. I loved the magic and cranky apple tree!
Readers fell in love with Sarah Addison Allen's debut novel, GARDEN SPELLS. Now the tale of the Waverley women is to be revisited with a magical sequel.
Autumn has finally arrived in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina, heralded by a strange old man appearing with a beaten-up suitcase. He has stories to tell, stories that could change the lives of the Waverley women forever. But the Waverleys have enough trouble on their hands. Quiet Claire Waverley has started a successful new venture, Waverley's Candies, but it's nothing like she thought it would be, and it's slowly taking over…
Nancy Bo Flood earned her Ph.D. in Experimental Psychology and Child Development at the University of Minnesota and has authored a variety of award-winning books. Walking Grandma Home came from her own experience as a child, as a counselor, and as a daughter. She has lived and taught on the Pacific island of Saipan, where she worked with teachers and parents to create resources and programs for students with disabilities, and for the past twenty years, she has taught in the Navajo Nation. With Native educators, she co-founded an early-literacy nonprofit, Read at Home, which encourages parents to read regularly with their children.
In the delightful book, a granddaughter enjoys many fun activities with her grandmother, especially dancing like a leaf. Grandmother begins to change in many ways, especially physically and with her memory. And then “Grandmother’s bed is empty.” The child grieves but slowly feels comfort and even joy as she celebrates the many activities she had shared with her grandmother.
As her grandmother's health declines, a young girl begins to lovingly take the lead in their cosy shared autumn traditions. Poetic prose paired with evocative illustrations by Mexican illustrator Claudia Navarro make for a beautiful celebration of life and a gentle introduction to the death of a loved one.
I may be a writer of psychological dramas, but I am first and foremost an avid reader who is addicted to books. My go-to genre is the psychological thriller, but I also love any books that use light and shade, balancing humour and darkness, inverting stereotypes, and generally keeping me guessing on plot twists and turns. All of the books I have recommended would keep you warm and cosy – and certainly distracted – on an autumnal evening when the nights are long and cold.
This is an exceptional crime novel. The characters are rich and unforgettable—Duchess and Thomas Noble will stay with me for a very long time. It is also beautifully written—nothing is unnecessary and every word has a purpose. I cried, I laughed and above all I rooted for them. One of those books I wish I'd written myself. A must-read.
Winner of the Gold Dagger for Best Crime Novel from the Crime Writers’ Association (UK) Winner for Best International Crime Fiction from Australian Crime Writers Association An Instant New York Times Bestseller
“A vibrant, engrossing, unputdownable thriller that packs a serious emotional punch. One of those rare books that surprise you along the way and then linger in your mind long after you have finished it.” —Kristin Hannah, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Nightingale and The Four Winds
Right. Wrong. Life is lived somewhere in between.
Duchess Day Radley is a thirteen-year-old self-proclaimed outlaw. Rules are for…
