Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Pick a red apple from a tree" is the first of several simple directives that comprise this picture book about the life cycle of an apple, from the creators of Hanukkah Haiku. After a girl delights in a crisp, red apple, birds surround two apple cores ("Leave an apple core for the birds to eat"). Next, dozens of seeds swirl through the air in spiral currents ("Watch tiny apple seeds scatter in the wind"), above a pastoral scene of rolling hills, patchwork fields, and a barn. A sapling sprouts and becomes a tree whose dramatic growth is revealed with a lift of a half-page flap. Soon the fruit is ready for picking and the cycle completes. Ziefert's spare, straightforward text is ably accompanied by Gudeon's folk art, which is dominated by strong reds, greens, and browns, and often framed by borders that play off the various scenes (a floral border matches the bounty of a farm stand). The subtle joys of nature and its growing cycles will be appreciated by children far younger than those suggested by the publisher. Ages 8-up. (Sept.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-With lyrical text and folk-style artwork, this handsome picture book celebrates the pleasures of a favorite food while accentuating nature's cycles and Earth's bounty. A luscious fruit is plucked from a tree branch, driven to a local farm stand, and purchased by a girl and her mother. After the apple is consumed ("Delicious!"), birds eat the core and seeds are scattered in the wind. Stages of growth are indicated as a newly sprouted tree is contrasted with one many years old (its size emphasized by a foldout page), and pink blossoms gradually transform into ripe fruit. The book ends with a "Thank you" directed at "birds, wind, sun, and bees" and the Earth itself. Blending jewel tones with colorful patterns, gracefully flowing lines, and intricate details, the paintings create a sense of wonder while depicting everyday details. The endpapers feature a delicate design of apples, seeds, bees, birds, blossoms, and more. The text and some of the full-page illustrations are framed by borders of leaves, vines, feathers, and other organic objects, all set against buff-colored backdrops that look like handmade paper. A lovely addition to units on seasons, apples, and nature appreciation, and just for savoring in general.-Joy Fleishhacker, School Library Journal (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Readers follow an apple from tree to market to mouth; when birds pick the seeds from the nibbled core, a tree sprouts, bursting with blossoms in spring and providing a new crop of apples in summer. Gudeon's folk-artstyle paintings depict the apple's life cycle in pleasantly busy illustrations with rich purples, reds and blues against an earthy, sand-colored backdrop. Each phase is introduced with a highlighted imperative verb: "Bloom apple tree and dress yourself in pink and white blossoms." The language rings as both forceful and joyous, in tune with nature's powerful beauty. A young girl navigates the apple's life cycle through the course of the book, and observant readers will see that her own life (friendship, love, children) remains in step with the natural evolution she's observing. Parents might take this cue and discuss how human lives and the lives of trees, plants and all of nature remain interconnected, bound by similar patterns. Growth and change become wondrous things in this well-conceived and -executed nature story. (Picture book. 5-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
