Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that the cumulative phrases of this book make it fun, and the illustrations are just as appetizing as the apple pie they describe. More about the making of the apple than the baking of the pie, this story celebrates the interconnectedness of life.
Families can talk about how the simple idea of apple pie grows into the more complicated story of how the apple came to be. And they will love talking about the different creatures who appear as the story grows, and how all nature seems to work together. Also, why was it important that the girl shared the pie in the end?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Patricia Tauzer
THE APPLE PIE THAT PAPA BAKED is as homey as Gramdma's kitchen, yet it's modern, rich, and even scientific. In simple language that is also poetic and true, Lauren Thompson tells the heartwarming story of how the apple pie comes to be, including a quick introduction to the whole ecological web of life. And, as a final loving touch, she adds that the true enjoyment comes in sharing the pie with all the creatures on the farm. With that, the circle is made complete.
Retro illustrations by Jonathan Bean add a folksy kind of wholeness to the story. The pigtailed girl's excitement as she wakes to follow her gangly farmer father to the field, the changing expressions of the farm animals that join them, the gnarled branching of the apple tree, the wide-eyed sun that hangs in the sky over-looking it all ... these, and other, detailed images are done wholly in yellowish-brown and black, with the dash of red for the apples highlighting each scene. Even Bean's artistic process, which he describes as the layering of three vellum pages each printed in a separate color, adds to the richness of this cumulative story.
From The Book
These are the roots, deep and fine,
that fed the tree, crooked and strong,
that grew the apples, jucy and red,
that went in the pie, warm and sweet,
that Papa baked.
Plot Summary:
The story starts with a steaming, freshly baked apple pie. Then building backwards from apple to tree to roots, water, rain, clouds, and so on, an excited young girl shows how the "apple pie that Papa baked" came to be.
Related Books:
More Tree Books:
Pearl Plants a Tree by Jane Zalben
Apple Picking Time by Michelle Slawson
Our Apple Tree by Gorel Naslund
Related Web Sites:
Illustrator's site
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Violence |
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Social BehaviorPapa bakes a pie for his daughter, and she enjoys it even more because she shares unselfishly. |
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