Did you know there is a bushel of books about apples to share with young children? And what a wonderful time of year to pick a few to read. (Do I get extra points for 2 puns in a row?) Here are some stories to start off your apple reading adventure:
A favorite book with thousands and thousands of young children is The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. The caterpillar starts his food journey with one apple, but he is still hungry. And we are hungry for more books.
Instead of a caterpillar, how about a bear that eats apples? The story Orange Pear Apple Bear by Emily Gravett is a wonderful book with only those 4 words. It appeals to young toddlers with its simple words and to older ones because of the imaginative and silly illustrations. Preschoolers also like the book to tackle reading independently. The four words all begin with a different letter so kids can figure out which squiggles say orange, pear, apple, or bear all by themselves.
This is a super book to help children with the idea that words have a purpose. It’s easy for kids to understand that the lines and squiggles in a picture mean something because pictures so often look like the real thing, but the idea that the funny marks called letters also mean something is not so obvious. Making the connection between print and meaning is crucial for learning to read. There’s a video below of this story with good closeups of the illustrations.
An Apple Pie For Dinner by Susan Vanhecke and Carol Baicker-McKee tells the story of Granny Smith who can’t make a pie for dinner because she has no apples. Solving the problem involves many other people and the connections this time are heart-to-heart as Granny helps the people she meets who then all help her.
There are baskets more books and stories about apples to enjoy with your child. For a play-of-the-day, how about a bite, munch, or slice?