PPBF: Bad Apple

Author/Illustrator: Edward Hemingway

Publisher: G.P.Putnam’s Sons, 2013

Genre: fiction

Themes: apples, worms, friendship

Age Level: 3 to 5yrs

Opening: Mac was a good apple.

Synopsis: (From the publisher) When Mac, an apple, meets Will, a worm, they become fast friends, teaching each other games and even finishing each other’s sentences. But apples aren’t supposed to like worms, and Mac gets called “rotten” and “bad apple.” At first, Mac doesn’t know what to do–it’s never easy standing up to bullies–but after a lonely day without Will, Mac decides he’d rather be a bad apple with Will than a sad apple without.

Why I like it: I picked this off the hold’s shelf (yes, my second home), and sat under the perfect-shade-of-blue sky of a fall day in Colorado. If you can read this under the same conditions, do so. The pictures reflected my reality. And how could anyone resist the main character’s big seedy eyes! A cute fellow smack in the middle of an ideal setting with plenty of crisp wit to keep the pages turning! Read this outside and you might have the same luck: as I turned the last page, a very small patron walked by and said, “Hi. What’s your name?” His was James. And this little worm invited me home to watch movies. Next time I’ll take him up on the offer – of friendship!

Resource/Activity: Apple activities: picking, bobbing, peeling, cider making, baking – you name it! Have children discuss unlikely friendships, and what they might offer that could differ from ones they already know. Great for first graders learning about seeds, orchards and insects – beneficial and not. And in the art room: discuss complimentary colors and harmonies.

Hope you enjoy it as much as I did! If I don’t reply soon, it’s because I’ll be attending the RMC-SCBWI conference in Golden, CO this weekend!

For more PPBF picks and teacher/parent resources and activities, go to the list on Susanna Leonard Hill’s blog – HERE