In Autumn

by Ruth Thomson

A title from the TOPPERS series which introduces children to the seasons. With colour photographs and illustrations.

Genres: Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1989

About the author

Ruth Thomson is an author and editor of many children's books. She has an MA in museum and gallery education and lives in London.

Reviews

[Andrew Davies · Rating 4 out of 5]

This non-fiction book by Ruth Thomson, specifically on the season of autumn, takes a very different approach to Jim Pipe's factual seasonal analysis reviewed previously. Thomson offers a range of both outdoor and indoor activities associated with autumn that might be appropriate for the EYFS or KS1 classroom: pupils could collect and identify fallen autumn leaves, before designing artwork or patterns out of them; they could identify seeds and berries, then consider how these might be dispersed during autumn to create new plants the following spring; they could use salt dough to make replica models of fruit, vegetables and plants, even hold a celebratory meal for one of the autumn's religious or secular festivals, in the form of Harvest, Thanksgiving or Succoth. Throughout, helpful boxes of facts and photographic illustrations help young readers understand the scientific and human/social background behind processes and traditions, whilst teachers will particularly appreciate the lists of equipment/resources required for each activity, plus a risk-assessment style set of cautionary guidelines towards the end discussing edible wild berries, nut allergies, and treatin animal or insect life with respect. Again there is an autumn quiz, and aspirational further ideas that even propose planting bulbs or tree seeds to see how they grow over the months throughout the school year. However, my favourite inclusion is the illustrated poem 'Autumn is Here' by Amy Lovell across the endpapers. Could pupils use any of the autumnal words helpfully provided in the book's glossary to write their own creative or poetic description of how the world looks, feels and reacts when 'Autumn is Here'?

[Back · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the activities!!! Great for preschool through 2nd grade.