My FIVE Favorite Fall Read Alouds and a FREEBIE!

Fall is here. If you read my blog post about my favorite summer read alouds you know it can sometimes be challenging to find simple picture books that benefit early readers. Whether you are looking for autumn-themed picture books for your classroom, remote learning, or your kids at home, this post has just what you need. These five fall read alouds are perfect for students with autism and other ability levels, as well as preschool and kindergarten aged students. Also, you will find quick augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) tips that will help all students in your classroom, regardless of ability level, access the books.

Fall Vocabulary Cards FREEBIE

Vocabulary words from each book are highlighted. You can download my FREE fall vocabulary cards that correspond to the books in this post.

This download can be found at the end of the post. 

What is my FAVORITE fall picture book?

I See Fall By Charles Ghinga

Again, if you read my summer read-aloud blog post, this choice may not surprise you. These seasonal books from Charles Ghinga are amazing for many reasons. First, the bright and inviting illustrations capture fall so perfectly and will hold your students’ attention. Second, the book discusses many fall activities that students can relate to. Some of the vocabulary highlighted are trees, leaves, apples, buses, geese, squirrel, pumpkin, scarecrow, and more. Lastly, this book also includes the repetitive text, “I see,” on each page. 

AAC tip: Have students focus on the core words “I” and “see” on their devices, communication boards, PECS, etc to comment on what they see and/or to help read the book. 

Four of my other favorite fall read alouds….

Autumn is Here by Heidi Gross Gray

This is another seasonal series that I love. The illustrations are gorgeous, however slightly abstract. Depending on ability level, I would recommend having story props/photographs when reading the book originally. Like the previous book, there is repetitive text. In this book, the repeated statement is “Autumn is here.” Some of the important vocabulary in this book are leaves, autumn, squirrels, geese, apples, tractor, pumpkin, and more. 

AAC tip: Have students practice communicating “autumn is here” using their communication devices, PECS, BIGmac buttons, etc. Students can take turns helping the teacher or parents read the book. 

Apple Picking Day By Candice Ransom

This picture book is a “Ready to Read” picture book, which includes simple words, rhyme and rhythm, and images that relate directly to the text. This book is all about a girl and her family and their trip apple picking. Some of the highlighted vocabulary includes fall, apples, tractor, tree, basket, green, red, and pie. This book contains many core words that can be targeted for various lessons. Some of the core words included are: in, go, I, see, we, down, and more.

AAC tip: Choose one (or more) core words to target each time this book is read. Tape the images of the core words within the book. This will allow students to find them on their communication device, communication board, etc while you are reading. 

In the Middle of Fall By Kevin Henkes

This is another book that is part of a seasonal series. This fall read-aloud features large images on (mostly) simple backgrounds. This book is very visually appealing, as red, yellow, and orange items are featured on most pages. Some of the vocabulary used in this picture book are leaves, squirrel, pumpkins, yellow, red, orange, apples, fall, and more. 

AAC tip: In this book, I recommend working on “I see” statements again. However, if your students’ ability levels lend to it, encourage students to use color in their “I see” statements, like “I see orange leaf.”

Apples and Pumpkins By Anne Rockwell

Within this book, there are one-two sentences on each page, with pictures that match the text. This book is about a girl and her family and their trip to the farm. Also, the story ends with pumpkin carving and trick-or-treating, so it is the perfect tie in with Halloween. Some of the vocabulary within this book are leaves, red, yellow, bushel/basket, apples, geese, pumpkins, Halloween, jack-o-lantern, and more. This book also contains many core vocabulary words such as: go, in, on, I, with, all, and more. 

AAC tip: This book is perfect for discussing and targeting prepositions such as “on” and “in”. Some statements to discuss while reading the book are: the apples are IN the basket, put the pumpkin IN the car, the candle is IN the pumpkin, etc. 

Since these books contain similar vocabulary words, I have included vocabulary cards for students to practice identification and generalization of this fall vocabulary. These vocabulary cards can be used during group lessons and one on one instruction. You can download my FREE Vocabulary Cards for Fall Read Alouds below.