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    Home » Blog » Reading with Kids

    Host a Fall Reading Picnic

    Published: Sep 23, 2013 · Modified: Sep 5, 2023 by Tiffany Dahle · This post may contain affiliate links.

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    The photo collage shows a kid in pjs reading picture books in the living room with breakfast treats next to a photo collage of fun fall picture books for kids.

    This list of fall books for kids is perfect for hosting a "Welcome, Fall" reading picnic in your living room. Stock up at the library, grab a snack, and enjoy a read aloud session with your kids.

    Two girls in Halloween jammies hold Halloween picture books and are sitting on the living room floor with breakfast treats.

    This weekend marks the first day of Autumn. I thought it would be fun to throw an impromptu celebration with my ladies to celebrate and we planned a last-minute Reading Picnic for Saturday morning.

    We started this sweet idea over the summer and it was a huge hit. We now plan to do reading picnics for every season of the year.

    My girls have always loved doing these picnics first thing in the morning, still in festive jammies (thanks grandma!). It is such a nice relaxing way to start the day.

    Want to host your own Halloween-themed Reading Picnic? Here's everything you need to get started.

    Jump to:
    • What You Need for a Fall Reading Picnic
    • The Best Snacks
    • How the Reading Picnic Works
    • What to Read
    • More Picnic Ideas
    • 💬 Comments

    What You Need for a Fall Reading Picnic

    A young girl holds a fall picture book on the floor in the living room.

    All you need to host an awesome reading picnic this fall is:

    • Large blanket for spreading on your living room floor
    • A tray of snacks
    • A huge pile of picture books for reading together

    To make our "Welcome Fall!" reading picnic extra special, I added:

    • A cinnamon cobblestone bread from the local bakery (If you plan ahead, my easy pumpkin bread would be awesome for this!)
    • Leftover party paper plates decorated with autumn leaves and matching festive napkins
    • Suggested the girls get dressed in their favorite Halloween jammies

    The Best Snacks

    The coffee cake is on a tray on the living room floor so it can be eaten picnic style.

    To really get your kids excited about having reading picnics every season, be sure to spoil them with special treats for the party.

    They'll enjoy nibbling on something tasty and listen even longer to a larger stack of picture books!

    For a breakfast reading picnic, these are my favorite breakfast goodies to serve:

    • 3 pans of homemade pumpkin bread cool on a stove top.
      Big Batch Pumpkin Bread Recipe
    • A glazed donut decorated to look like a spider with a donut hole on top, googly eyes, and black frosting legs is in the hand of a kid.
      10 DIY Halloween Donut Ideas
    • Homemade banana zucchini bread has been sliced to show the inside and sits in a white ceramic bread basket with a grey striped napkin.
      Banana Zucchini Bread
    • A cranberry orange muffin with cinnamon streusel is wrapped in a bright red muffin paper and sits on a pile of other muffins.
      Cranberry Orange Muffins with Streusel Topping

    If your reading picnic is later in the day, you may prefer a simple snack. My kids love these:

    • A serving bowl has creamy peanut butter apple dip and is topped with salted peanuts. There are green apple slices in the dip and on the plate with pretzels.
      Creamy Peanut Butter Apple Dip
    • A photo collage shows the different apple snacks to make with fresh apples.
      Easy Apple Snacks for After School
    • A photo collage shows a variety of fresh and healthy after school snacks for kids.
      30 After School Snack Ideas

    How the Reading Picnic Works

    A girl reads out loud from a Halloween picture book while sitting on the living room floor.

    Juggling food and reading out loud may seem like a challenge but I've got the perfect fix:

    We take turns reading our picks.

    I usually start so the girls can get a few mouths full of food and listen.

    Then the Peanut takes her turn to read out loud to us and I munch on my snack.

    Now that Little Pea is old enough to take her turn too, she is excited to read out loud to the group having just been a listener for so many years.

    Taking turns allows everyone to practice good listening as well as encouraging the excitement to be the reader.

    Though, there's nothing wrong with letting your shy kids just enjoy the listening if they prefer.

    What to Read

    A young girl points to the story she is reading out loud for the reading picnic.

    Depending on when you host your fall reading picnic, you might be more in the mood for general fall books, spooky Halloween picture books, or lovely Thanksgiving books that focus on gratitude and the harvest.

    We've read children's picture books for all seasons. Here are some of our favorites for fall:

    • A photo collage of several lovely fall picture books to read aloud to kids.
      Gorgeous Fall Books for Kids
    • A collage of Halloween picture books for reading out loud to kids.
      Delightful Halloween Books for Kids

    More Picnic Ideas

    Picnics can be such a fun way to spend time with your kids. Whether you're enjoying an indoor picnic with tons of books or you're heading out to the great outdoors for an adventure.

    Here are some more fun picnic ideas to get you started:

    • A wicker picnic basket with white flowers and a bottle of water with fresh fruit sits on a picnic blanket outside.
      What to Pack for a Picnic: 45 Easy Recipes
    • A travel bowl filled with yogurt and granola.
      Food to Bring for a Hotel Picnic
    The photo collage shows a kid in pjs reading picture books in the living room with breakfast treats next to a photo collage of fun fall picture books for kids.

    More Reading with Kids

    • A stack of the Illustrated Harry Potter Books are on a shelf with a golden snitch sitting on top.
      Harry Potter Fan Club for Families
    • A photo collage shows 4 different covers of cookbooks for kids
      The Best Cookbooks for Kids 2024
    • A girl lays on a bed reading a book.
      You Want Smart Kids but Are You Doing This?
    • A stack of Halloween books with a pumpkin on top.
      8 Halloween Movies Based on Books {Not Too Scary}

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

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    1. Jenna

      October 17, 2013 at 9:44 pm

      cute idea! definitely going to do this with my kiddos! Thanks!

      Reply
    2. Porter

      September 23, 2013 at 1:18 pm

      Such a great idea! And we have a free Saturday morning coming up next weekend. This is one I think my boys will love, thanks for sharing! On a side note, I noticed the color of your walls and love it! Do you remember what color it is? Thank you 🙂

      Reply
    3. Cinnamon Vogue

      September 23, 2013 at 11:50 am

      The two little ladies are absolutely gorgeous. And what poses. Hats off to the photographer for a great picture/s. The colors works so well. And Cinnamon of course.  Tiffany we would love to send you two Cinnamon candles to make it even more festive. Just email us a shipping address.

      Reply
    4. Jen @ Plain Vanilla Mom

      September 23, 2013 at 11:14 am

      What a great book list! Exactly what I've been looking for. Glad to see you over at KBN now 🙂 Welcome! Have always loved your blog. Originally found you through Zina.

      Reply

    Trackbacks

    1. Ultimate Procrastinator's Guide to Fall - Peanut Blossom says:
      September 9, 2015 at 1:00 pm

      […] many candles as you can find. Read a bunch of Halloween or Fall books. Need inspiration? Check out this list of over 30 titles to get you started. Out of everything we did during “Spooky Week,” I think this was my […]

      Reply
    2. Peaches and cream scones » Peanut Blossom says:
      August 7, 2014 at 3:14 pm

      […] picnics for breakfast” day. It’s been one of our favorite morning activities since the first one I wrote about here. We don’t always bake something special, but when we do the mornings are even more […]

      Reply
    3. “Let’s play homeschool!” » Peanut Blossom says:
      June 9, 2014 at 7:18 am

      […] Reading Picnic for breakfast with our new library books Arts & Crafts Day: Much more on this to come because I […]

      Reply
    4. Last day of school celebrations » Peanut Blossom says:
      May 18, 2014 at 11:08 am

      […] have reading picnics both indoors and […]

      Reply
    5. Lasso the Moon Autumn Apple Cider Picnic says:
      October 23, 2013 at 7:09 pm

      […] Don’t let poor weather get you down. While it is great to have an apple cider picnic on a pile of leaves, it is equally exciting to host a picnic right on your living room floor. *Why not throw some books into the mix? Pop on over to Peanut Blossom for a list of 30+ fall titles for a reading picnic. […]

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Tiffany!
    I believe a great family recipe is one that makes everyone at the table happy, not just the kids. I'm the author of two bestselling cookbooks for kids that are chock full of recipes everyone in your family will love. I'm also the hostess of the best online book club for women.

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