The narrator of this seasonal picture-book from author Eileen Spinelli and illustrator Nancy Hiyashi describes in rhyme all of the ways she knows when it's autumn. From shorter days to pumpkins muffins for breakfast, from cooler air to a return to school, there are many signs of the season, and the girl enjoys them all...

Given my own love for the autumnal season, and the fact that I enjoyed Wanda's Monster, another of Spinelli and Hiyashi's picture-book collaborations, I expected to enjoy I Know It's Autumn more than I did. Unfortunately, although it definitely some appeal, I found the rhyming text a bit awkward. It wasn't the rhymes themselves that felt forced, but the overall rhythm of the piece. Somehow, as I read along, it felt more like a choppy list, than a smooth-flowing narrative of seasonal enjoyment. I did appreciate the fact that the family depicted is a mixed-race one, with a father who looks Japanese-American, and a mother who looks Euro-American. Although I do think there are better autumnal picture-books out there, tastes vary, so I'd recommend that picture-book readers looking for stories set at this time of year give it a try, and see if they feel differently. ( )

I Know It' Autumn is about a young child pointing out all the things they see and experience when it is Autumn. What the child sees and experiences rhymes within the story, The illustrations show a picture of what is being described.
This book would be great to use to teach about autumn when the seasons change. Students could describe what they see and do that lets them know it is autumn. On the page with the classroom depicted there are fall vocabulary words on the board that could be used in the actual classroom. ( )

discusses the different aspects of fall: going apple picking, racking leaves, going on tracker rides
6 books

It talks about what the girl, what her family do and how she knows it's autumn. She knows it's autumn when the morning light comes late and that her dad takes the jackets out of the storage box. when farmer Freddy brings his harvest into town. when the family picks the apples for mom's apple pie.

A little girl tells how she knows it is Autumn by the changing of things around her.

3-4
Pierce COunty