September 2010 Book Recommendations

I was just enjoying the wonderful fresh apples available from my local Farmer's Market, and I thought that for September, I would use them as my reading and activity theme. I have two terrific books to recommend.

First, The Crooked Apple Tree, written by Eric Houghton and illustrated by Caroline Gold, published by Barefoot Books, New York. In this delightful story, two children use their imaginations to play under a crooked old apple tree. Although they don't think much of the old tree, they appreciate it more after looking at the photographs their Dad had taken of it throughout the year.

Second, The Apple Pie Tree, written by Zoe Hall illustrated by Shari Halpern, published by Blue Sky Press, New York. There are two children in this story who adore their apple tree and spend the year in anticipation of it's wonderful gift-apples! They watch it throughout the seasons and get to pick the apples and make themselves a delicious pie. The last page of the book explains the importance of bees to pollination, and gives instructions on how to make the perfect apple pie.


Activity: For a change of pace, I decided this month instead of a craft, I would offer two child friendly, simple apple recipes. Cooking with children is a rewarding experience. Besides giving them good skills for later life, it offers parents the opportunity to introduce new language, as well as the skills of measuring, fractions, reading, telling time, sequencing, and nutrition.

This activity must be done with an adult.

Apple Cream Pie
4 cups of peeled and diced apples
1 cup of sugar
1 cup of half and half
2 tablespoons of flour

Combine all the ingredients. Pout into unbaked pie shell. Bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until brown at 350 degrees.


Apple Crisp
1/3 cup of butter softened
1 cup of brown sugar
3/4 cup of flour
4 cups of sliced tart apples

Mix butter, sugar and flour. Place apples in a 8x8 inch pan. Sprinkle butter topping over the apples. Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.

Pour two glasses of cold milk and enjoy!