Apple

by Nikki McClure

Apple follows the life of an apple throughout the year, demonstrating the cyclical patterns in nature. The youngest readers will delight in following the journey of the bright red apple—the only splash of color in the otherwise black-and-white illustrations—as it travels from tree, to harvest, to snack, to compost, and finally to sprout. A single word complements each illustration, urging early readers to reflect on each stage in the apple’s life.
Apple is acclaimed cut-paper artist Nikki McClure’s very first book, originally self-published and sold in a limited edition of just 200 copies. Now, 16 years later, it is available in wide release, and fans will relish the chance to own the book that launched McClure’s signature style.

Praise for Apple
STARRED REVIEW
"Run your fingers across this satisfyingly square book’s cover and feel the subtle, smooth outlines of a ripe apple and simple letters. You’ll immediately sense the solid, soothing storytelling at work inside, achieved through astute manipulations of paper."
—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Food, Nature, Fiction, Gardening, Kids

40 pages, Hardcover

First published August 1, 2012

About the author

Nikki McClure of Olympia, Washington is known for her painstakingly intricate and beautiful paper cuts. Armed with an X-acto knife, she cuts out her images from a single sheet of paper and creates a bold language that translates the complex poetry of motherhood, nature, and activism into a simple and endearing picture.

Nikki McClure is a self-taught artist who has been making paper-cuts since 1996. As one of the more prominent visual artists involved with Olympia-based record labels K and Kill Rock Stars, as well as the Riot Grrrl movement in the early nineties, her work still embodies the fiercely independent fire that fueled the passion and creativity of that time period. She lives in Olympia, Washington.

Reviews

[Lisa Vegan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting book. It’s almost as though it’s aimed at two different audiences. The main part of the book, in which each double page has an illustration (all pictures are in red, black & white) and a single word to go with it, seems aimed at kids just learning to read and kids just learning the meaning of the words, and then the one page of detailed information in the back, with its own 4 part (seasons) picture, gives information about the life cycle of an apple tree and information about composting, and that part is aimed at school aged children who are independent readers, although I guess younger children being read to will also be interested to have this knowledge. The main part of the book does tell a story, albeit a very simple one. I liked the paper cut illustrations, though I think I appreciated the idea of them more than finding them all that aesthetically pleasing. This book would be a good adjunct for lessons on composting and apple gardening, and might also be a good one for getting kids interested in eating apples.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is interesting--I'm not always a fan of Nikki McClure's work, but I found myself really responding to the art in this book. (And someone else said they disliked this book but loved other McClure titles!) I appreciated the author's notes at the back, which provided more context about apple trees and compost. Physcially the book is a joy as well, with an appealing square shape and nice thick matte pages.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book! I love the simplicity, I love the boldness and starkness.

[Melody · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved the part where the apple gets forgotten and turns into compost! I liked the stark 3 color layout, and the one-word-per-page style. I could see this working with a person who was not quite reading yet- one could look at the one word, writ large enough to trace the letters, and one could talk about the papercut facing, and flesh the story out as much or as little as required. Nicely done.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simple tale of how apples come into our hands. Gives young children a deeper connection to the food they eat.

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

First sentence: Fall. Find. Sneak. Hide.

Premise/plot: Originally a picture book, Nikki McClure's Apple is now available in board book format. This simple book--illustrated in red, white, and black--tells the story of the apple's life cycle. Or should I say "story." This isn't so much a story as it is a sparse poem? Each spread has just one word accompanied by an illustration. To connect all the pages into a cohesive traditional story requires much work or effort. But essentially, a young child picks an apple, and then eventually many months later plants the seeds from that apple.

My thoughts: Books are so subjective. Apple illustrates that well. If you happen to love, love, love the illustrations--McClure is a cut-paper artist--then Apple may be appealing. The illustrations use just three colors--red, white, black. They are definitely striking. But just because I can recognize their artistic artiness doesn't mean I'm personally a fan of the art. And as I hinted at above, there just aren't enough words to piece together a "real" story. Again, for some readers the sparseness may be much of the appeal.

Perhaps if the sparse text was paired with different illustrations--more expressive, capable of telling the story without relying on any text--OR if the illustrations were paired with more text?

I wanted to enjoy this one. I did. I love, love, love, love eating apples. They are one of my favorite, favorite treats. But for me, this one was an almost.

[Lynn · Rating 4 out of 5]

The life cycle of an apple doesn’t get much simpler than this! Actually, the cycle is expanded to include the influence of humans who find the apple and ultimately put it into the compost, where it then becomes a new tree.
Sturdy pages hold bold block prints showing the apple’s journey from falling from the tree until a new tree sprouts. The text is on the left hand page, and each accompanying print on the right hand side. proving a nice pattern. The apple is in red, of course, and other objects are in black against a white background. Very effective in it’s simplicity, and even sitting on display, attracted my eye directly toward this book.
The ‘text’ is merely one word per page in large bold font, and would be a great introduction to the apple unit.
This could be used as a very effective writing exercise in which students extend each word into a sentence to include adjectives and descriptions, or paragraphs for older students. The author also included a paragraph at the end about the cycle and composting which are simple enough for youngsters but include enough detail that it could be used as an information book.

[Tasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow the life stages of an apple from the time it falls from the tree, ripe and red, to its return to the soil. Written in single words, the story is told primarily through the images that are done in exquisite cut paper. In each image, red is used solely to illuminate the apple with the rest of the image in black and white. This serves to not only highlight the apple as the focus, but also makes for a dynamic minimalist style.

The simplicity and minimalism really work here. It is a stunning book both in the strength of the illustrations and the focus on life stages. This is a book I would suggest for parents reading to infants, because it has that strong contrast of black, white and red that infants’ brains respond to. Even better, it’s a book that adults will enjoy reading again and again.

Appropriate for ages 0-3.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

McClure creates her illustrations from the art of paper cutting. The apple was drawn on black paper then cut out. The apple is the only splash of color in this book, but adds to the highlight of the topic.

The story is simple with a paper cut image on one side and a word on the other. I appreciated the words chosen because they are verbs whether it is taken as a quiet or loud version of the word. I think it depends on the reader.

Reviewed from a library copy.

[Kendra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book and how simple it is for kids to learn the life-cycle of an apple. It's such a great concept of the one word line on each page as you follow along. I love the illustrations on how original they are in black and white then the pop of red throughout the book......

Read more of the review at
http://lifeofstay-at-homemom.blogspot...

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son was staring at the pages with interest. The one-word explanation for each illustration left room for creative story embellishment. There's a part at the end that talks about apple trees and composting. At the very very end of the book the author/artist talks about how the book came into being, which I enjoy reading.

[C. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite the simplicity of illustrations and text this picture held my three year olds interest and provided a great opportunity to practice predicting from the text.

Would also work really well with younger readers I feel because of the high contrast of illustrations.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love the simplicity of this book. It is quiet but powerful.

[Leah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple and beautiful.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently read in Baby Play for Every Day: 365 Activities for the First Year that black and white images are really good for encouraging the development of baby's vision. Now, I look for books with black and white images.

The black and white illustrations with the red apple are really nice. The text and story I found boring, though. There's one word per spread and not much of a story line. It's about apples in the fall, so is a nice seasonal book.

I recommend this book for reading with baby. I would take it slow, marveling at the images with baby and looking at and saying the word on each page. It's a nice way to spend time with baby and encourage their sight and literacy development. I wouldn't worry about getting through the whole book or even reading the pages in order. I would just enjoy looking.

[Olivia Thames · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fall is a magical time of year where all of the wonderful and more heartwarming children's books come out to play. Nikki McClure's "Apple" will remain a favorite to recommend to all family, friends, parents of students, and fellow educators and librarians regardless of the time of year.

The illustrations, use of color, and simplicity in dialogue makes the book a lovely addition to any library and any bedtime story time. It will also help those learning to read, or learning a new language through the exercise of using children's books.

I cannot wait to find more books written by, and illustrated by, Nikki McClure! I am curious what other topics she will choose, and what other mediums she might experiment with!

[Erendira · Rating 5 out of 5]

The art in this book is memorable. It is paper cut, but could very well pass as lino cut. I love this medium and read the back page to learn more about the author's creative process. It began after she saw an apple tree and then accumulated pages and pages of illustrations on the theme. This book is the collections of those interpretations. A fine, simple and exquisite look at apple trees and their life cycle.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is pretty, but it's hard to tell what's really going on. I had no idea the apple had been turned into compost until reading the back matter at the end. Each spread has a great picture with one word describing what's happening. Overall, not bad, but I wasn't really impressed either. I won't be using this one in story time.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book consists of just a handful of words; a word appears on the left-hand side of the book accompanied by a picture on the right-hand side. All of the pictures are black and white papercuts, with an occasional burst of red (usually the apple). My sons really enjoyed the simplicity of this book.

[Mama Bearian · Rating 4 out of 5]

With one word pages and bold cut-paper illustrations in black and white (with red apple), this is a simple book that follows the life of an apple. It was interesting, though it would require some more explanation for little ones to understand what is happening.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We love reading our way through the year with Read Aloud Revival’s Year of Picture Books. This one seems like a baby book with one word per page. The illustrations are black and white with red accents. It’s okay.

[Brett · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am in love with McClure's papercrafting. Beautiful.

[Seema Rao · Rating 4 out of 5]

Spare, poetic images are matches with simple words in this tale that highlights on plant, an apple tree, over four seasons.

[KC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this artwork.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Perfect for babies

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The journey of an apple captured in simple text and McClure's beautiful woodcut illustrations.

[Ammie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple life cycle of an apple.

[Lara Bate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apple by Nikki McClure is a great book for newborns!

[The Transmuted Tree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Red 5th

[Miss Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

Told in one word per page and black, white and red drawings an apple is found eaten and composted before it sprouts a new. Preschool and up