Fall is finally here! We love the fall season, so we love checking out new children’s books about fall and pairing them with fall leaf activities. Today we are excited to share an adorable new children’s book about leaves and the crafts and activities that we paired with it!

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The Leaf Thief was written by Alice Hemming and illustrated by Nicola Slater. This adorable book follows a little squirrel who loves looking at the beautifully colored leaves on his tree. But when he notices a leaf is missing, he starts asking the other animals around him if they stole it. His friend Bird explains to him that this happens every year, and it is perfectly normal. But Squirrel continues to panic as more leaves disappear and keeps hunting for the “leaf thief”. In the end, he is reminded that this is normal in the Fall, and happens every year.

Kids will love the hilarious way that Squirrel searches for his missing leaves, and the funny ending to the story. The brightly colored illustrations highlight the bright Fall colors, and feature adorable animal characters. Not only does this story explore the changing of the seasons, but also recognizes the feelings of powerlessness that we can all feel when things change around us.

Check out these printable Fall activity pages!

Find the Leaf

Since the Squirrel spent the book looking for his leaves, this inspired us to do a Leaf Scavenger Hunt! Print out this Leaf Scavenger Hunt page and search your neighborhood for leaves that match each color.

Leaf Races

Since the “leaf thief” ends up being the wind, this book offers a fun opportunity to have leaf races. Set up two leaves at the end of a table and give kids a straw. Have them blow through the straw to move their leaf and see who can get their leaf to the other end of the table first.

Related Post: Fall STEM Activities

Leaf Blowing Picture

This cute and easy craft combines photos with real leaves to create a cute keepsake. First, you will need to collect brightly colored leaves. This is a fun way to get kids outside and searching the world around them. Explore the leaves that come from different trees in your neighborhood. Take a photo of your child pretending to blow bubbles or catching leaves falling from the sky and print it out. Carefully cut around their face or body and glue it onto a piece of paper or cardstock. Then glue the leaves to the same paper. We even did one with our dog!

What are your favorite leaf activities for kids? Have you read this children’s book about leaves? Share in the comments below!

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