I love apple picking! As soon as October rolls around, I am checking out the websites of my favorite orchards to find out when my favorite breed of apple is ready for harvest. The crisp cool air, sweet smell of apples, and culinary ideas swirling through my mind. The beginning of fall. I am so grateful to live in Upstate New York, where there are orchards twenty minutes in every direction from my home. Here are some books to get you into the apple mindset.
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Apples by Gail Gibbons
Ages 3+
Gail Gibbons writes excellent nonfiction books for early readers, and now she has started writing board books for our youngest readers. This is a perfect introduction to the annual cycle of the apple tree. The board book is an excellent preschool book about apples.
If reading with older children, check out the unabridged version of Gail Gibbon’s Apples. This edition contains information about the history of apples, how to plant and care for an apple tree, and more.
Tags: Apples, lifecycle, pie, farming,
Ten Apples Up On Top by Theo LeSieg
Ages 2+
Lion, tiger, and dog try to see how many apples they can balance on top of their head while they do their daily fun. Will they let the apples fall? This is a fun counting book with Seussical charm. This book is silly and leaves you in suspense at the end of each page. Will they let the apples drop?
Every apple season, I have fun reading this book with my daughters after we go apple picking. I started taking annual pictures, measuring them in apples. This is a fun extension activity to the book, as it involves counting, measuring, and comparing previous measurements. Apples are not the most accurate measuring tool as each varies in size (my oldest remained the same amount of “apples tall” from one year to the next).
Fun fact: Theo LeSieg is one pseudonym of Theodore Giesel, better known as Dr. Seuss. LeSieg is Giesel spelled backward. Seuss was Mr. Giesel’s middle name. Giesel never earned a medical license or doctorate; he “adopted” that title to please his father, who always wanted him to become a doctor.
Tags: Apples, Animals, Counting
Apples for Everyone Written by Jill Esbaum
Ages 3+
Apples for Everyone is a beautiful informational text that introduces readers to all things apples, including the annual tree cycle, types of apples, Johnny Appleseed, and more.
The National Geographic photographs provide vivid visuals detailing how apples develop and how they are present in our lives. The language in the book is simple and accessible for younger readers.
Tags: Informational text, apples, Johnny Appleseed, Trees, Farms, Orchards
Ten Red Apples by Pat Hutchins
Ages 3+
The farmer watches the number of apples on his tree as the animals help themselves to a tasty treat. Will the farmer get a chance to try a yummy apple? Kids will have fun with the animal sounds and predictable, repetitive language. Reading tip: While reading, point to the words as you read it, and invite your companion to make appropriate animal sounds and together say “yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!’ Pointing to the terms while reading, them building phonetical awareness of the sound they hear and the letter they see on the page.
Ten Red Apples is a sweet introduction to the concept of subtraction. Find ten apples or colorful pom poms to make a real-world connection with this book. Together, chant “ten apples hanging on the tree, yippee fiddle fee” __________(name of child) “came and ate one. Save some for me!”
Johnny Appleseed written by Jodie Shepherd Illustrated by Masumi Furukawa
Ages 3+
An uplifting folktale of Johnny Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed by Jodie Shepherd highlights the life story of Johnny Appleseed. From early childhood and throughout his life, Johnny Appleseed planted thousands of apple trees to help people grow food during westward expansion.
I love how this book shows how Johnny Appleseed relates to contemporary children, playing with his siblings, enjoying the outdoors, reading under a tree, or helping a hurt animal. Readers can identify with Johnny and may realize that they, too, can contribute to the world through small acts of kindness.
Tags: Helper, Apples, Tree, Planting, Kindness, folktale Westward exapansion
Happy reading!
Xo,
Sheryl