This year the Autumn Equinox will occur on September 22, 2021 at 3:21 p.m. in the Northern Hemisphere. What this means is the sun will be exactly above the Earth’s equator and moving from North to South. At the time of the equinox, day and night will be approximately equal in length.

Since we live in the Northern Hemisphere, the sun rises later and nighttime comes sooner with the Autumn Equinox. Before long, we will be experiencing night around 5 or 6 p.m. This is why the autumn days are much cooler than those of summer. Both the Autumn and Spring equinox are considered astronomical events where the Earth is tilted at approximately 23 ½ degrees either toward the sun or away from the sun. The Southern Hemisphere experiences the complete opposite of the Northern Hemisphere.

While we experience the Autumn Equinox on September 22, those south of the equator will be experiencing the Spring Equinox. Their days will become longer and warmer. As we know, the Earth never stops moving around the sun, so that’s why there are only two days a year where we have equal parts day and night.

So, now that you know all about the Autumn Equinox, here are some book suggestions to get you into the spirit of cool nights, hot chocolate, sweatshirts, and warm blankets!

Adult Fiction:

  1. Autumn by Ali Smith
    • The novel is a stripped-branches take on popular culture and a meditation, in a world growing ever more bordered and exclusive, on what richness and worth are, what harvest means. (Summary provided by publisher)
  2. Autumn’s Promise by Shelley Shepard Gray (Hoopla Ebook)
    • In the final book in the Seasons of Sugarcreek series, an English woman and an Amish man must struggle with how much to sacrifice for their love. (Summary provided by publisher)
  3. Drums of Autumn by Diana Gabaldon (Hoopla E-Audiobook) (Libby Ebook)  
    • Scottish soldier Jamie Fraser and his wife, Claire Randall–a twentieth century doctor who has traveled two centuries back in time–find themselves in South Carolina on the eve of the American Revolution, where they must fight to save a young girl.
  4. First Frost by Sarah Addison Allen
    • Autumn has finally arrived in the small town of Bascom, North Carolina, heralded by a strange old man appearing with a beat-up suitcase. He has stories to tell, stories that could change the lives of the Waverley women forever.
  5. When Autumn Leaves by Amy S. Foster (Hoopla Ebook)
    • In the picturesque Pacific coast town of Avening, it’s hard not to believe in magic. This is a town where the shoes in the window always fit, where you can buy a love potion at the corner shop, and where local lore seamlessly mixes with the supernatural.

Children’s Fiction:

  1. This Was Our Pact by Ryan Andrews
    • It’s the night of the annual Autumn Equinox Festival, when the town gathers to float paper lanterns down the river. Legend has it that after drifting out of sight, they’ll soar off to the Milky Way and turn into brilliant stars, but could that actually be true?
  2. A Year Without Autumn by Liz Kessler
    • Twelve-year-old Jenni’s much-anticipated vacation with her family and best friend Autumn goes awry when an old elevator transports her to a future in which everything has changed, and she must not only return to her time but find a way to prevent what she has seen from coming true.
  3. Aru Shah and the End of Time by Roshani Chokshi (Hoopla Ebook) (Libby Ebook) (Libby E-Audiobook)
    • Aru Shah has a tendency to stretch the truth in order to fit in at school. While her classmates are jetting off to family vacations in exotic locales, she’ll be spending her autumn break at home, in the Museum of Ancient Indian Art and Culture, waiting for her mom to return from her latest archeological trip. Is it any wonder that Aru makes up stories about being royalty, traveling to Paris, and having a chauffeur?
  4. The Maloneys’ Magical Weatherbox by Nigel Quinlan
    • When autumn fails to arrive at the end of summer, Irish siblings Nigel and Liz must battle for control of the seasons from the evil Mrs. Fitzgerald.

Children’s Picture Books:

  1. Wonderfall by Michael Hall
    • Follows the story of a single tree through the changing of the seasons from fall to winter, as people, animals, and vehicles pass in front of the tree, celebrating holidays, playing in the leaves, and building nests. Includes blended words.
  2. Pete the Cat: Falling for Autumn by Kimberly and James Dean (Hoopla E-Audiobook) (Libby Ebook)
    • Realizing how much he appreciates everything the autumn season has to offer, an ever-groovy Pete the Cat participates in corn mazes, hay rides and apple picking.
  3. My Leaf Book by Monica Wellington
    • A young girl visits an arboretum in the autumn to collect fallen leaves. She identifies various trees by the shapes of their leaves and pastes her collection into her own leaf book.
  4. Little Elliot, Big Country (AKA: Little Elliot, Fall Friends) by Mike Curato
    • Elliot the little elephant and his best friend, Mouse, play hide-and-seek during an autumn vacation in the countryside.
  5. In the Middle of Fall by Kevin Henkes 
    • In the middle of fall, the sky is nearly gray, the leaves have already turned, and all it takes is one gust of wind to turn the world yellow and red and orange.