Fall Felting & Autumn Books

Rain has returned to our little garden, and I am glad. The plants do so well with a good rain watering. The temperature has dropped considerably this week, and Fall preparations around the house have begun. Today, I brought out some of my Fall needle felting to get inspiration for this years fall projects. So I thought I would share some of my fall needle felting as well as share with you a few of my favorite children's stories for fall reading.

I never cease adoring children's literature. I had the wonderful opportunity to study a college course in children's literature many years ago, and the class gave me an even deeper respect and love of children's books. So, even though my children are both well into their teens, I continue to appreciate all of the wonderful children's books I have acquired (and still acquire) over the years, and love sharing about my favorites.

First I will share some of my needle felting.

The first thing I ever learned to needle felt was a pumpkin, there are many wonderful, easy to follow tutorials on YouTube and various web sites, on how to needle felt a pumpkin, this is such a fun craft, I would encourage everyone to give it a try. Every year I add new pumpkins to decorate around the house. I love owls, and really enjoyed needle felting the owl above, I hope to add a new owl this year. One of my favorite needle felt projects was my fall tree. I made this by felting a basic round tree top shape on the truck, then individually needle felted fall colored rolled up balls of wool to create the leaves. The tree took quite some time, but I was very happy with how it turned out, and for me the quiet, repetitive process of needle felting is very relaxing (at least when you don't needle felt your finger (ouch!!) :) I would love to make a whole autumn forest.

I had a wonderful campfire needle felted for my little gnomes to gather around, but my puppy Zoey especially loved it, and thought I made it just for her to "play" with - so that along with a gnome and a fir tree are no longer with us, and now all needle felt is kept on higher bookshelves, sorry Zoey.

The colors of fall are so rich, they are my favorite wool colors to work with, and I look forward to getting started on my fall crafts!

Now for some wonderful book selections:

Autumn by Gerda Muller is a wonderful board book for little ones. This is a wordless book, filled with beautiful illustrations of fall. Pictures of children doing all sorts of wonderful fall activities. I think it would be fun to read this book, then do some of the activities the children are doing in the pictures, such as playing in leaf piles, and making various fall nature crafts. Perfect book for sharing with even very young children, great for teaching about the fall season. I have included an Amazon link below, Gerda Muller has illustrated a book for each of the seasons, and I think that all four would be a wonderful addition to any children's library.

The next book is written by one of my favorite Children's authors Elsa Beskow. Woody, Hazel and Little Pip is a beautifully illustrated story, set in autumn, about two little acorn children who get blown away in the autumn wind and their adventurous day. You can't help but enjoy the imaginative world created in the illustrations of this book. Little by little I am collecting all of Elsa Beskow's books- they are beautiful and wonderful stories. Here is a link below to the miniature hardback edition of this book.

One of my favorite series of books to read as a child were Frog and Toad books, I love the 1970's classic look to these stories, and it always brings me right back to my favorite spot in the public library where my Mom would bring to to read every week when I was little.

One of the first books I purchased for our children's library was the Frog and Toad Treasury. A wonderful story in this collection is Frog and Toad all Year- this story follows friends Frog and Toad through an entire year of seasons. This book is wonderful for story time, and is a perfect beginning reader book as well. The pictures are peaceful and natural looking, and all Frog and Toad stories are wonderful stories of friendship. They no longer make the edition I have, but below is a link to the new version of this classic set.

And last but not least, a book for slightly older readers, The Racketty-Packetty House by Frances Burnett, illustrated by Wendy Halperin. This is not a "fall" story, but the fall colors of the binding caught my eye on the shelf, and it is such a wonderful classic I decided to share about it. This book was written over 100 years ago in 1906, and is a story of the inhabitants of a "Racketty-Packetty" old dollhouse, and the inhabitants of a brand new doll house. Wonderful story about being appreciative of what you have, as well as a thoughtful and imaginative story. Perfect for anyone who loves doll houses (I sure do). Wonderful old fashioned story!

I hope you get a chance to read some of these wonderful stories. What are your favorite fall books?

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 (NIV)

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