Learn how plants and animals spend fall getting ready for winter in this sweet picture book. Fall Feast: Nature’s Harvest by Sean Taylor and Alex Morss features a family going for a walk on a cool fall day and observing what’s happening in nature.
Morss is an ecologist, journalist and educator, so you can be sure the facts shared in the book are accurate, while Cinyee Chiu’s illustrations are warm and inviting.
The children see birds, squirrels, fungi and nibbled nuts and apples on their walk, and learn from their mama how animals get ready for winter (and fungi and bugs help nature along by devouring a dead tree). They gather fallen apples and take them home to mom, who makes a fall treat so they can have their own feast together.
After the story, the book talks about why fall happens (because of the tilt of the earth away from the sun) and explores in more detail what’s happening with plants and animals this time of year. Some plants drop their leaves, for example, while others make berries or seed pods to spread their seeds around for next year.
Some animals hibernate or migrate, while others store up food, make a warmer winter shelter or grow thicker fur to keep warm.
It also covers insects, fungi and other decomposers, and gives tips for helping out the plants and animals in the fall. (I’d have liked a recipe for what they call flapjacks in the book but looks more like a cake to me, but that’s maybe just me.)
This book is the fourth in a series of books about nature and the seasons, which also includes Winter Sleep, Busy Spring, and Wild Summer. If you like the style and the story you might want to pick up all four so you have the complete story of the year for your family or classroom to share.
About the book: 32 pages, hardcover, published 2024 by Happy Yak. Suggested retail price $19.99.
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