A vibrant companion to When Spring Comes explores the sights, sounds, smells and textures of the autumn season, describing in simple, alliterative text and striking imagery how its transformations culminate in the frosty winter. By the Caldecott Honor-winning author of Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. - (Baker & Taylor)

Watch the world transform when fall comes! In the middle of fall, it takes only one gust of wind to turn the whole world yellow and red and orange. 

Caldecott Medalist and New York Times-bestselling author Kevin Henkes’s memorable text introduces basic concepts of language and the unique beauty of the fall season. Laura Dronzek’s expressive paintings illuminate pumpkins, apples, falling leaves, busy squirrels, and the transformation from colorful autumn to frosty winter.

“This exquisite picture book will inspire youngsters to get outdoors and observe the world around them.”—School Library Journal (starred review)

In a starred review, Kirkus called In the Middle of Fall “A touching portrait of the fall season from two superb artists.”

In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, When Spring Comes, and Summer Song make for a beautiful quartet of seasonal-theme picture books to share at home or in the classroom. Ideal for introducing the season, for story time, and for bedtime reading.

Watch the world transform when fall comes! In the middle of fall, it takes only one gust of wind to turn the whole world yellow and red and orange. 

Caldecott Medalist and New York Times-bestselling author Kevin Henkes's memorable text introduces basic concepts of language and the unique beauty of the fall season. Laura Dronzek's expressive paintings illuminate pumpkins, apples, falling leaves, busy squirrels, and the transformation from colorful autumn to frosty winter.

'this exquisite picture book will inspire youngsters to get outdoors and observe the world around them.''School Library Journal (starred review)

In a starred review, Kirkus called In the Middle of Fall 'A touching portrait of the fall season from two superb artists."

In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, When Spring Comes, and Summer Song make for a beautiful quartet of seasonal-theme picture books to share at home or in the classroom. Ideal for introducing the season, for story time, and for bedtime reading.

Everything is yellow, red, orange.

Everything is chilly, frisky, gusty.

Everything is changing, turning.

It’s the middle of Fall.

Can you see it?

Can you taste it?

Can you smell it?

Can you imagine it?

Everything is yellow, red, orange.

Everything is chilly, frisky, gusty.

Everything is changing, turning.

It's the middle of Fall.

Can you see it?

Can you taste it?

Can you smell it?

Can you imagine it?

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* From the husband-and-wife team behind When Spring Comes (2016) comes another stirring picture book about the changing seasons. Creating a sense of immediacy, the narrative starts "in the middle of fall, when the leaves have already turned," while the acrylic illustrations vividly contrast the oranges and yellows of the land with the gray sky. A child in a hooded jacket surveys the scene from a swing attached to a tree. The perspective shifts to a higher view of squirrels in the treetop, then moves to ground level to show dried up plants, and expands to a wide shot of a pumpkin patch, followed by a close-up of apples. Scene by scene, the story builds to the wind blowing leaves everywhere, obscuring the view. As the leaves settle to the ground, a two-page spread employs small medallion illustrations to review the previous pictures and then sets the stage for the next act—winter. Masterfully conceived and executed, this perfectly captures the sights and feelings many children experience during the transition from fall to winter. For those who don't live in temperate climates where leaves change color, it beautifully evokes how the shift happens—first slowly, then quickly—and helps them understand the transformation. With back endpapers filled with snowflakes, hopefully Henkes and Dronzek are hinting at a forthcoming book about winter. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Scores of readers were enchanted by Henkes and Dronzek's When Spring Comes; expect big turnout for the award-winning pair's follow-up. Copyright 2017 Booklist Reviews.

Horn Book Guide Reviews

This companion to When Spring Comes is a quietly joyful paean to autumn and to the changeability of the seasons. Lush acrylic paintings in vivid autumnal colors foreground "frisky" gray squirrels; nodding, browned sunflower heads; plump orange pumpkins; and shiny red apples that look "like ornaments." The text is brief but lyrical, pitched perfectly to preschoolers. Copyright 2018 Horn Book Guide Reviews.

Horn Book Magazine Reviews

While clearly a companion to their earlier When Spring Comes (rev. 3/16), Henkes and Dronzek's latest offering stands on its own as a quietly joyful paean to autumn--and the changeability of the seasons. Cover art with a bold, blue background that shows off gold-hued display type and red, orange, and gold foliage establishes how text and art will revel in the colors of mid-fall before a culminating shift to winter whiteness. Myriad animals and people populate the sequential outdoor scenes, lending them a gentle vitality. Throughout, Dronzek's soft, thick outlines emphasize the vivid autumn colors; her lush acrylic paintings foreground "frisky" gray squirrels; nodding, browned sunflower heads; plump orange pumpkins; and shiny red apples that look "like ornaments." Meanwhile, Henkes's spare, lyrical text prompts page-turns from one spread to the next. An understated climax arrives with the admonition that "it takes just one big gust of wind" to turn everything "yellow / and red / and orange" and scatter leaves "all over / all around"--signaling the end of fall and the beginning of winter. Closing endpapers decorated with lacy snowflakes put the final touch on this gorgeous offering, providing a visual epilogue that answers the front endpapers' scattering of colorful leaves and acorns. A picture book to fall for. megan dowd lambert Copyright 2017 Horn Book Magazine Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Author-illustrator duo Henkes and Dronzek extol the quiet splendors of autumn in this lyrical, exquisite complement to their previous seasonal outing, When Spring Comes (2016).Its crown full of reddish-orange leaves, a tree stands against a gray sky. "In the middle of Fall, / when the leaves / have already turned," the narrator begins. Measured and understated, Henkes' text masterfully raises and stirs moods and sensations in pieces, each building on top of the other. A fair-skinned child in a red hooded sweatshirt and yellow boots sits on a swing, a brown dog sitting on the ground nearby. Squirrels scurry about, gardens wither, and pumpkins "are ready" as various children pluck them off the ground. All it takes is "just one big gust of wind," says the wistful narrator, and suddenly "everything is yellow / and red / and orange." Solid lines and deep autumnal colors abound in Dronzek's gorgeous acrylic illustrations, which fill the spaces left untouched by the text. In pace an d richness, text and pictures dreamily embody the essence of fall, which in this book marks a transition both bittersweet and inevitable. Enjoy the child and dog at play throughout these autumn landscapes, because before either of them knows it (and perhaps before readers realize it as well), change will come again. A touching portrait of the fall season from two superb artists. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright Kirkus 2017 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

In a evocative companion to When Spring Comes, spouses Dronzek and Henkes praise the beauty of fall in full swing: "In the middle of Fall,/ when the leaves/ have already turned/ and the sky is mostly gray/ and the air is chilly," begins Henkes in one of just two sentences that stretch across the entirety of the book. The quiet writing crescendos, and a gust of wind blows the leaves, "and all at once—/ everything/ is yellow/ and red/ and orange." Dronzek's smudgy, thickly outlined acrylics offer cozy perspectives on an apple orchard, a pumpkin patch, "frisky" gray squirrels in a tree, and a hillside where a girl in a red coat and yellow boots plays. It's a rich homage to the season—both its blazing colors and the signs of coming winter darkness. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

School Library Journal Reviews

PreS-Gr 2—In this lovely companion to When Spring Comes, poetic text and lush-hued acrylic paintings depict a rural setting fully turned to autumn. Leaves shimmer orange and yellow, "the sky is mostly gray/and the air is chilly," "frisky" squirrels gather nuts, plump pumpkins stand ready for the picking, and apples hang from tree branches "like ornaments." A red-jacketed girl and her dog, along with other cozily clad children and busy woodland animals, engage in outdoor activities as the tranquil ambience builds. Then, suddenly, with "one big gust of wind" (and a whirl of colorful leaves depicted in a motion-filled spread), "everything/is yellow/and red/and orange." The moment resonates, as the child catches a drifting orange leaf, then romps in a just-raked pile. Readers are encouraged to remember the details of fall (circled insets provide helpful visual clues), for soon all of its glories will fade and the sky will change again. Delightful details and sensory-rich images pack the pages, celebrating the tangible characteristics of the season while conveying the sense of wonder inherent in nature's transformations. VERDICT A must-have for autumn storytimes and investigations, this exquisite picture book will inspire youngsters to get outdoors and observe the world around them.—Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs