As we were wandering through a bookstore in the San Francisco Ferry Building, two books caught our eye, and we had to buy them instantly.

And, today is Sept. 21, autumn is here (in the northern hemisphere) and the days will get shorter.

• We Gather Together by Wendy Pfeffer and Linda Bleck is a wonderful celebration of autumn as a harvest season (and also facts about the fall equinox).
• From ancient cultures to today, harvest festivals are observed around the world – e.g. Jewish families celebrate Sukkot, in southern India Pongal is a four day rice festival, Nigerians offer yams to the gods and ancestors as thanks for a good harvest, in Great Britain “corn dollies” traditionally were made to ensure a good crop next year, and in the United States, Thanksgiving is a time for families to gather together and enjoy a big feast. Colorful two-page illustrations take us on a delightful worldwide journey.
• Fall Walk by Virginia Brimhall Snow just makes you want to go outside – “I went for a walk in the leaves today. They rustled and crunched as I kicked them away.”
• The illustrations are exceptional – each page has a different tree and its leaf in fall colors, for twenty four different trees, including oak, birch, aspen, cottonwood, gingko, walnut willow, peach etc. This book encourages kids to learn about the trees in your neighborhood turning those lovely fall colors, also how to press leaves and make a leaf rubbing.