Ah. Autumn!
My favorite season.
Prepare to be lambasted with autumn goodness all season long.
Today, let's read some autumn books.
Louis Slobodkin's art work creates such a chilling, yet bright atmosphere for this lovely book. This book helped me see that there is more than one side to every body.
We follow the seasons of Jane Eyre's young life, her passionate romance and heartbreak against the backdrop of a beautiful English autumn, summer, winter and spring. A romance which none could ever equal.
I started this book three times and only ever got as far as the goblin part. Other books seemed to always get in the way. But last year, in light of a certain final movie release, I knew I better read it and finish and get all my tears out beforehand so I wouldn't be reduced to a crying mess in the theaters. Which happened anyway. But if you're home all weekend, grab a cup of cocoa and snuggle up with an autumnal adventure of elves and shape-shifters, dwarfs and a hobbit.
Though it begins in summer, To Kill a Mockingbird ends in a swirl of leaves on a cloudy night in autumn. Though I'll forever associate it with the humidity of the south in summer, there's no escaping the night filled with chill that Boo Radley came out.
I put off reading the final chapters of this book for two weeks. My mother gave this book to her teacher to read and he would not speak to her after he finished. My grandpa sat in a comfy chair and Mom said tears streamed down his face. Nevertheless, Where the Red Fern Grows is a must for dog and autumn lovers. Wilson Rawls writes with the same ability to sweep you off to the far away Ozarks and never let you return.
There will inevitably be a Trixie Belden book around whenever we talk about autumn. It's one of those traditions passed down from mother to daughter. Here's the synopsis:
When a storm damages the roof of their clubhouse, the Bobwhites are desperate to raise the money to repair it. Brian offers the money he had saved to buy a car, but Trixie and Honey come up with a plan to get the money and keep Brian's car. A diamond ring, a strangely dressed man, a unicycle and a dead deer become elements of a strange mystery that in the end isn't so mysterious. ~Trixie Belden.com
7. The Witch of Blackbird Pond, by Elizabeth George Speare
Of course there isn't a real witch, just a girl from Barbados, a young sailor boy, fighting for independence, Puritans, ships and mysterious charters stolen in the night. For any girl on a lonely autumn morning longing for the sea, adventure, and love.
If I'm remembering correctly, it's set mostly in winter, but the Cornish moors are such a sad, dreary place. Wreckers, Albino priests, and brooding Jamaica Inn ensnare young Mary Yellan in a world of horrible secrets.
The other book you will not find without autumn tagging along. Though we follow Mole and Ratty through every season, none other is more beautiful and poignant than autumn stirring the blood of the river folk.
The young priest, Mark Brian, comes to the Pacific Northwest village of Kingcome to minister to the Native Americans. But through the beautiful, timeless seasons he finds that they have ministered to him.
The mysterious bell that rings precisely at dusk holds the town of Sealey Head in web of spells and secrets. Not only for autumn-lovers, but for writers and fantasy seekers. Though maybe a bit slow to the winding down of things, this book holds a deliciously sinister feel that keeps you turning pages.
Every autumn the small island of Thisby is filled with tourists eager to bet on and watch the dangerous racing of the water horses where some live and some die. The ocean adds to this magnificent autumn landscape a saltiness you can't get out of your veins.
A young British girl from India finds solace in reviving the forgotten secret garden from the dead of autumn to the beauty of spring. If you read this as a child or watched the movies, the transition from autumn and winter to spring and summer, combined with a mysterious, crippled boy and Dickon will forever entrance you.
There, now. I'm all steeped in autumn. I hope you October weather is behaving and you are able to leave your windows open all day long. The prairies are revolting and are insisting that it is still summer. Have a lovely autumn weekend!
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