The Apple Pie Tree

by Zoe Hall, Shari Halpern (Illustrator)

Two young sisters follow the progress of their apple tree through the seasons, from a bare tree in the winter, through the pink blossoms of the spring, to the apple picking in the autumn.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Food, Science, Nature, Storytime, Plants

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1996

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two sisters observe their apple tree through the seasons in this charming picture-book for younger children, delighting in the robin's nest in its branches, admiring its soft pink blossoms and growing fruit, and playing in its welcome shade. When fall comes, and the apples are ready for picking, the girls enlist their parents' help in making an apple pie - a treat that is all the sweeter for having been "grown" in their own backyard...

With a simple text of no more than a sentence or two per page, and lovely collage art that holds the attention, The Apple Pie Tree is an ideal choice for introducing preschoolers to the beauties of nature, and the joys of home-cooking. A brief afterword includes more detailed information about the process of pollination, as well as the author's own recipe for apple pie. All in all, a sweet little book, one I would recommend particularly for use in the fall, when it's apple-picking season.

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great book for showing a year in the life of an apple tree, some robins, bees, the cycle of nature, and two young sisters who have that apple tree in their back yard. I love books that show how food gets from tree (or ground) to table.

I normally love collage art and I did enjoy these illustrations.

This is a wonderful book to show children how an apple tree can become an apple pie, and hopefully can become apples as well.

There’s a recipe for apple pie in the back. AND, for vegan families, the only non-vegan ingredient is butter, so it’s incredibly easy to substitute Earth Balance spread and make this pie, and personally I’d use whole wheat pastry flour too, for the crust, although it still wouldn’t be that healthy a project: LOTS of sugar; I guess that could be changed to another ingredient too, or possibly simply left out if sufficiently sweet apples are used!

This book will work for toddlers but it will work for much older children too, and following up reading the book by baking an apple (or other fruit) pie will make the book even more fun, and educational too.

[Cheryl Gladfelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Warning: you will want apple pie after you read this.

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read at In the Trees drop-in story time at the Tenley library on 8/30/13: https://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com...

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mainly about the cycles of nature and watching growth, but also a little bit about satisfaction in making something yourself and there is an apple pie recipe at the end, so there are good activity options here.

[Jackie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really sweet, a new favorite for the toddler. Teaches about growing your own food. Lighthearted and fun.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love the bright colorful illustrations and simple, easy breezy flow of text across each page. It kind of reminds me of the hungry caterpillar book. I love the way the book teaches kids about the biology of how apples grow from the flowers on the tree. I liked the story of the robins hatching from their eggs and then growing feathers and learning to fly, which occurs while the apples on the tree are ripening. The front end papers show the pink apple blossoms against a blue background, and quite fittingly, the back end paper shows big ripe apples against the same sky blue background. I also enjoyed the mirthful expressions on the faces of the 2 sisters and their cat. Really a delightful book that I can imagine any adult will enjoy reading with a child.

[Ginna]

Wonderful book, great illustrations!
I will use it to show the cycle of nature.
As an activity I will create a collage for the classroom with leaves, pine-straw, and different elements the students could collect from the playground. I will make a big tree poster and they will glue the materials on it to represent the Apple Pie Tree. The next day, I will bring the material for apple pie, and will have a cook lesson for the class, the next day after reading aloud the book, students will draw a picture of the tree in the different seasons of the year and write a sentence under the picture to explain their ideas. The next day you could ask questions about what animals they see in the story and what connections they can make with the book.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great book for younger children that takes a fun, unique look at the growth and development of an apple tree that makes great apple pies! Fun way to teach the life cycle of an apple tree!

[Peacegal · Rating 3 out of 5]

Paper cutout illustrations tell the story of an apple tree's growth as it ripens apples ready for pie. Includes a recipe.

[Vicki · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for all seasons-showing the life of an apple tree. Awesome illustrations.

[Bookbag_Betty · Rating 3 out of 5]

With warmer spring weather, the leaf buds unfold and flower buds begin to grow on the ends of the twigs.
Honeybees are attracted to the apple flowers by nectar and the scent of the petals. ...
In summer, the apples grow bigger and gradually change color, and the tree produces new growth.
In fall, the apples ripen.

TRAVELED TO // A Town Near You
MET ALONG THE WAY // Two Sisters, Mama Robin and Her Babies & And Apple Tree

[Kendra · Rating 4 out of 5]

This week with Mason and Cassie we are reading letter A books. We are studying letter A with songs, with art projects, learning how to write the letter A, and reading books on letter A. We are also learning sight words that start with the letter A. Whew...a lot. But it's how we do fun things in our house. We read "The Apple Pie Tree" by Zoe Hall. This book was published in 1996. In the book, the characters have a special tree in their yard an apple pie tree! This book goes through the life-cycle of the apple in a fun story.

This book has some amazing illustrations by Shari Halpern. They are colorful and very detail that you can almost see the apples in real life. The story is sweet and really told how apples are created in a beautiful story. Mason and Cassie really enjoyed looking at the book and listening to the story. It's great for the our walk through the alphabet.

[Diana · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I may disagree with the author that the apples are the best part of a pie (I'm a crust fan, personally...), I can't deny that this book does a great job of showing how the magic of apples come to be. The "year in the life of..." concept works well here, and I appreciate that there's no snow in the ground in the picture of the tree in winter. Those of us in warmer winter zones notice these sorts of things. lol I want to draw attention to the fact that the author didn't JUST talk about how apples grow. The bits about the robins nesting in the tree are especially wonderful, and serve to emphasize the cyclical nature of life. And with a nice little recipe for an apple pie tucked away at the end, I can see this book being a big hit to readers and their families. Very nice.

[Edward Sojuwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is not about a tree that grows actual apple pies. If there were such a thing, the tree would be crusty and sugary and the people at Mrs Smith Pies would pay thru the nose for one such tree. Instead it's a nice kid's book about a girl, her brother and their apple tree. Every once in a while the two check to see if the tree has their apples ripe and ready, and they say hi to a family of robins nesting in the branches. When the time is right, the two take the apples home for pie making. And it's all good and apple-y sweet. Not much plot, just a slice of life about families enjoying a slice of apple pie. It's good to celebrate life. It truly is.
Four stars
Rockin robins, and apples for bobbin's. Can't get cooler than THAT.

[Hailey Villafuerte · Rating 4 out of 5]

Two sisters take us through the growth of apples of the apple tree and the growth of baby birds throughout the seasons. The opening of the book is interesting, it talks directly to the kids and asks them if they can guess what part of of an apple pie their tree grows then at the end they show their finished apple pie. I thought it was interesting for the book to break the fourth wall like that, I really don't think I've ever read a kids book that has done that before. I would use this book in my classroom as a read aloud to engage my students before a science lesson or inquiry dive on seasons, food, or animals/birds.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book that I read with kindergarten friends on Friday. This book tells about a special tree in the yard, and shows it's growth through all the seasons, and concluding with the apples being made into a pie. It is a wonderful story that tells children about how a tree grows through the seasons and about cooking delicious things. And the illustrations are simply breathtaking. They look like paintings. And the kids really enjoyed looking at the birds in each picture. I highly reccomend it as a classroom read, a book for beginning readers, and a book for parents and children to share.

[Kristen Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows the cycle of an apple tree and would be great to share with younger students. I think that this book would be a fun activity to incorporate into a science lesson. It tells a story of two sisters that watch their apple tree change all throughout the year. It also touches on how satisfying it can be to work together to make something happen together. This is one that I can definitely see myself having on the shelves of my classroom one day.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very informative book for kiddos about where the apples in their apple pie come from.
This beautiful collage format follows the backyard apple tree from bare and brown in the winter to warm pie on a plate!

A whole page in the back about how honeybee pollinate apple blossoms and how. Along with an apple pie recipe!

[Madison Paprzycki · Rating 3 out of 5]

Throughout this story, it is showing different things that grow on different trees, etc. This story can be good to show the different ways that the seasons change and the different things that can grow on the the trees/outside. This can be used in the classroom while the seasons are changing and when I am trying to teach different seasons.

[Taylor Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Genre: Informational non-fiction
Grade: k-1

Great book for showing the cycle of how apples grow on a tree each year. The text is simple making it very easy for children to understand. The book is full of colors and fun pictures. It's a perfect book to add to your fall reading list!

[Megan Biter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a prime example of incorporating literacy into science lessons. While giving descriptive texts and pictures, children learn about the cycle of an apple tress and birds through the seasons and steps to make an apple pie.

[Jessica Lewers]

This is an informative picture book teaching children about seasons by describing and showing pictures of what happens to an apple tree throughout different seasons. It even includes an apple pie recipe.
Age level: 4-8 years
Lexile level: 480L

[Mama Bearian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book follows an apple tree throughout the seasons, ending with a yummy treat - apple pie! The text is simple enough that toddlers could follow along as well. It would be great for a preschool unit on apples.

[linnybee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and simple, clear text. Learn what happens to an Apple Tree through the seasons.

May your next book be your favorite!

-Mama Bean
beansandbooks.blog

[Lauren · Rating 4 out of 5]

Illustrated with collage-style art, this book depicts the change of seasons, centering around what happens with an apple tree, as it goes from bare, to blossoming, to budding with fruit, to providing apples for pie.

[Sarah Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this book is better suited for 3-5 year olds, but my older kids still enjoyed it. Two sisters watch the apple tree the seasons until they finally get to see the tree produce the best part of apple pie - the apples! The illustrations are very vibrant!

[Cindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This picture book follows the life of an apple tree through the seasons. Then a tasty apple pie is made and shared. The back matter shares info about how apple trees are grown and a recipe for apple pie.

[Amber Heath · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an informational books for chidren in K+. One unique feature of this book is it tells an interesting story while giving out information about apple trees

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read-Aloud Revival Recommendation for September Picture Books.