Print edition: 
"Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin" written and illustrated by Tad Hills (Schwartz & Wade Books, ages 2-5, $6.99) is a must-have book for fall.
Duck and Goose have had their problems in previous books, but here they show amazing teamwork and diligence as they search for their very own pumpkin. They look in a hollow log, under a leaf pile, and on top of a stump, but they can't find a pumpkin anywhere.
Hills' "Duck & Goose" introduced us to these endearing characters in an award-winning picture book. "Find a Pumpkin" features bright, quality illustrations emphasizing fall colors with a complete story in a board book format.
Duck and Goose finally find a pumpkin. But only after following their friend Thistle's suggestion to try looking in the pumpkin patch. "Duck and Goose Find a Pumpkin" will thrill preschoolers and their parents, and it is also an excellent choice for beginning readers.
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"Applesauce Season" written by Eden Ross Lipson and illustrated by Mordicai Gerstein (Roaring Brook Press, ages 4-8, $17.99) takes a modern look at a family autumn tradition.
Fall doesn't really start for this urban family until the new crop of apples arrives at the stores. Everyone helps choose, wash, and prepare the apples for cooking. Mom cuts the apples into fourths, but Grandma always does sixths, and no one knows why. With different types of apples coming to market every week, the color of the applesauce keeps changing.
Lipson has written a delightful account of an old-fashioned tradition living on in a metropolitan setting. The back page has a recipe for families to follow. Gerstein's squiggly line drawings are softly colored. The end pages show and identify more than 15 varieties of apples.
"Applesauce Season" is a fun book for families, even if the only applesauce they ever eat comes from a jar.
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"Crow Call" by Lois Lowry with illustrations by Bagram Ibatoulline (Scholastic Press, ages 7-10, $16.99) is a poignant look at a parent and child "groping toward understanding each other."
In 1945 a young girl goes on a special trip with her dad who has just returned from the war. Earlier he had taken her shopping and let her buy a man's hunting shirt that she had been eyeing for a long time. Wrapped in its warmth, the girl and her father go out to call crows.
Lowry's first picture book tells its story with all the power of her earlier award-winning novels. Her connections between a World War II era father and daughter will resonate with modern audiences. Bagram Ibatoulline's paintings are breathless with amazing detail and warmth.
"Crow Call" is based on a true experience from Lowry's childhood. Readers today will be drawn in by its charm and finish with book with the pleasant feeling that sometimes even in a very complicated world, there are things that go just right.
