Library Haul: Story Time Contenders, Fall Favorites, and More!

Today I'm linking up with A Gentle Mother, who has a new weekly Library Haul feature! We typically visit the library every three weeks and check out a ton of books. Here's what came home in my library bag(s) this past weekend.

• What's An Apple? by Marilyn Singer, illustrated by Greg Pizzoli 
• Day and Night by Shira Evans 
• Baby Faces by DK Publishing 

These three titles were chosen specifically because of the girls' current interests. Miss Muffet has been eating apples for snack nearly every day, so What's an Apple? seemed like the perfect book for her. I sought out Day and Night specifically to address her questions about the sun and the moon, and how it can be daytime here and nighttime on the other side of the world. I didn't realize until I browsed the new book shelf that there was an updated version of Baby Faces, but I knew right away that it would be a hit with Bo Peep, since she is such a big fan of an older version that we bought at a used bookstore.

• From Head to Toe by Eric Carle 
• Hello, Day! by Anita Lobel 
• Pete the Cat: I Love My White Shoes by James Dean and Eric Litwin 

I'll be starting a weekly story time at a local church in November, and I don't own all of my favorite story time books, so I needed to borrow a few. I'm not sure yet which ones I'll be reading for the first session, but I like to have lots of favorites on hand when I start doing story time for a new audience. 

• Halloween by David F. Marx 
• Ollie's Halloween by Olivier Dunrea 
• Fall is Not Easy by Marty Kelley 
• Pumpkin Heads by Wendell Minor 

I tracked down these Fall titles, most of which I've read before, knowing they would be age-appropriate titles for Miss Muffet this year. The non-fiction title is to help explain Halloween in simple terms for Miss Muffet. I chose Ollie's Halloween because we love the Gossie series. It has already proven to be a good choice, as while we were still in the library, Miss Muffet plopped herself down on the floor, flipped the book open, and called out, "This has Ollie and Gossie!" I'm considering Fall is Not Easy for one of my upcoming story times, but it also ties in to Miss Muffet's fascination with the changing leaves. And I got Pumpkin Heads thinking that Bo Peep might like it too, since she loves faces.

• Yellow Time by Lauren Stringer
• Wonderfall by Michael Hall
• Hocus Pocus, It's Fall by Anne Sibley O'Brien, illustrated by Susan Gal

These are all new Fall picture books I read about on various blogs and decided to try. I have liked Michael Hall's book in the past, and I really enjoy Susan Gal's illustrations, though not always the texts that accompany them. I can't recall how I found out about Yellow Time, but at first glance, I don't think I'll be too impressed,unfortunately.

• Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak 
• Pumpkin Moonshine by Tasha Tudor 
• Halloween by Trudy Trueit 
• Before Morning by Joyce Sidman, illustrated by Beth Krommes 

This was my second time placing Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn on hold. Last time, it came in after we had just been to the library so it wound up getting sent back. This time around, I timed my hold-placing better, and it came in plenty of time. I've always liked Tasha Tudor, but have never read this Halloween book, so I'm excited for that, and I also love that the non-fiction title is a rebus, as I've been wanting to try those with Miss Muffet. I've been hearing a lot of buzz surrounding Before Morning, too, and I'm looking forward to seeing how it compares to Blue on Blue, also illustrated by Krommes.

• Cranberry Thanksgiving by Wende and Harry Devlin 
• Thank You, Thanksgiving by David Milgrim 

I know it's a bit early for Thanksgiving books, but I knew they would probably be checked out by the time we go back to the library again in three weeks, and it's better to have them early than not at all. Thank You, Thanksgiving might make an appearance in an upcoming story time. I chose Cranberry Thanksgiving for nostalgia's sake. I loved the Cranberry series as a kid. 

• Some Writer! by Melissa Sweet 
• Wednesdays in the Tower by Jessica Day George 
• The Rest of Us Just Live Here by Patrick Ness 
• This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith 
• Gertie's Leap to Greatness by Kate Beasley 

Finally, this is my to-read-on-my-own pile. Since my visit to the National Book Festival, I've been itching to try something by Patrick Ness, so I went with the title that sounded most interesting to me. I also really wanted to read Some Writer! after seeing Melissa Sweet's presentation. Wednesdays in the Tower and This is What Happy Looks Like have both been on my to-read list for a while, so I made sure to put them on hold, then I grabbed Gertie's Leap to Greatness from the new book shelf, since the reviews have been mixed and I'm curious.

And that's my library haul! What have you checked out recently?