Gather Grateful

Lyrical prose and luminous illustrations welcome the arrival of fall in a season of community and thanksgiving.

Gather twigs and sticks to nest.
Gather safety, strength, and rest.
Gather up and fly away.
Gather close. Prepare to stay.


As colors in nature start to change, animals begin gathering items--squirrels their acorns, crows their treasures, raccoons the bits and pieces needed to fortify their homes. Animals of all species prepare to gather with each other too, for warmth, for affection, for sharing food or stories. With lilting, rhythmic prose, Megan Litwin heralds the beginning of the season and follows the transition of animals and humans as they prepare for the coming winter. Alexandra Finkeldey’s striking limited palette, capturing the preparations outside and in, brings this story of love and gratitude to quietly glowing life.

Megan Litwin is a children’s book author, a former classroom teacher, and a forever believer in book magic. She holds an MA in children’s literature from Simmons University. She is the author of the picture book Twinkle, Twinkle, Winter Night, illustrated by Nneka Myers, and the early reader series Dirt and Bugsy, illustrated by Shauna Lynn Panczyszyn. She lives with her family in Westborough, Massachusetts.

Alexandra Finkeldey is the illustrator of Saving the Spotted Owl by Nicola Jones; The Boy, the Cloud, and the Very Tall Tale by Heather Smith; When the Storks Come Home by Isabella Tree; and the True Stories of Animal Heroes book Talala by Vita Murrow. She lives in Ottawa, Canada, with her husband, two cats, and an elderly gecko named Lenny.