As the nights are drawing in, it is time to snuggle together beneath a blanket and share some stories

This time last year we would have been curled up together in front of a roaring log fire

But the last time our fire was lit was the night that Tilda died

I am not sure if or when we will ever have one again

But stories, well, they are more important and meaningful than ever.

As part of our bedtime routine each evening we watch one episode of Abney and Teal on iplayer and then we share some stories.

After a season of Thomas galore we are now loving exploring our box of autumn stories.

I would like to share some of our favourites with you.

We have been learning about the changes that autumn brings. The darker evenings bring conversations about creatures that are awake while we are asleep. Like owls!

We love owl stories. Owl Babies has long been a favourite of ours. We struggle a bit to read it now as we have always changed the names from Sarah, Percy and Bill, to Esther, William and Tilda.

Luckily we have a new best owl book which tells the adventures of Plop in The Owl Who Was Afraid of the Dark. We have had this the last few nights and Esther and William love it. They laugh at all the different ways Plop lands as he learns to control his landings. I love the way it shows the passing of time and how it gently deals with a fear of the dark, a fear of trying something new. It really is a wonderful story, beautifully told.

Little Owl is a similar story of a baby owl learning to fly and exploring the world around him. This book we love as the owls and other animals are soft and fluffy making this a real sensory story.

WOW Said The Owl is a book about colours. We have the board book version and Esther and William love to read it to themselves or their engines, obviously! This book is a lovely portrayal of our beautiful, colourful world.

Throughout autumn we also talk a lot about weather and festivals. Plop introduces us to fireworks and Room on the Broom is great for introducing witches, cats and frogs and all things Halloween. Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou introduces the idea of spooky Halloween ghosts. I am a bit careful with ghosts, I do not want them to think that Tilda might be a ghost that haunts us. Halloween we keep very light and fun, our ghosts and spooks are always fantasy and friendly. Wake Up Do, Lydia Lou is good for this. We have a full review of this book coming up in the next few days.

Hairy Maclary’s Hat Tricks is great for talking about a windy day, “a blusterous, gusterous, dusterous day”.

With windy days come falling leaves. We are enjoying two great leaf books at the moment. Leaf Man which is a magical autumn book and We’re Going On A Leaf Hunt which is fabulous fun and a great precursor to a walk in the woods or a romp round the garden.

In Baby Tilda’s garden we have some amazing pumpkin plants and so Pumpkin Soup is a book that we are reading lots.This is a magical story that is beautifully illustrated and a treasury of autumn images. I am certain it is going to be a favourite for years to come. We also love The Gigantic Turnip that we read at home and listen to in the car.

During Autumn we look at the sky a lot. We gaze at the moon and search the sky for shooting stars. We have two beautiful books about the moon and stars. I Took The Moon For A Walk is a lyrical bedtime story littered with rich imagery and stunning illustrations. Daddy’s Little Star is the book that Baby Tilda sent from the sky for Daddy’s birthday. It is all about the sky and how just like love, the sky goes on forever. A perfect autumn, bedtime story.

Other books in our autumn pile include

Bear Snores On
Stuck by Oliver Jeffers
The Scariest Thing of All
The Kissing Hand (great for starting school)
Stormy Weather
and
Farmer Duck

I am going to be reviewing some of these books on the blog over the coming week.

Would love you to share your autumn favourites too?