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Bring Me Some Apples and I’ll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis
Long before the natural-food movement gained popularity, Edna Lewis championed purity of ingredients, regional cuisine, and farm-to-table eating. She was a chef when female chefs—let alone African American female chefs—were few and far between. With lyrical text and watercolor illustrations, Robbin Gourley traces the roots of Edna's appreciation for the bounties of nature through the seasons. Folk rhymes, and songs about food are sprinkled throughout the text, and five kid-friendly recipes and an author's note about Edna's life are included.
48 pages, Paperback
First published June 18, 2008
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews
June 5, 2009
This is an excellent non-fiction book for children. One of the best things about it is that it makes fruits and vegetables seem so appealing.
I love the illustrations. The story text is a mix of straight prose and of rhymes and sayings from Edna’s childhood on the farm and from American folk traditions.
I’m so glad a children’s biography book was written about Edna Lewis, whose grandfather was one of three freed slaves who founded the farming community of Freetown, VA. the story also seems very modern in that it could be about the slow food movement of today.
There’s an extensive author’s note in the back of the book that I found just as interesting as the book proper. I appreciate that the author gives a list of the 5 cookbooks Edna Lewis wrote; she was a chef when she grew up.
Also, 5 dessert recipes (not Edna’s) that are “meant to be made with adult supervision” are included and they use strawberries, corn, apples, and pecans. I noticed that as a vegan they’re not vegan, no surprise there!, but as with almost all recipes, they could be easily “veganized” so I’d have no qualms about sharing this book and its recipes with vegan kids. Families and youth groups could have a fun activity of reading this book, discussing it, and making a snack by using one of the recipes.
I love the illustrations. The story text is a mix of straight prose and of rhymes and sayings from Edna’s childhood on the farm and from American folk traditions.
I’m so glad a children’s biography book was written about Edna Lewis, whose grandfather was one of three freed slaves who founded the farming community of Freetown, VA. the story also seems very modern in that it could be about the slow food movement of today.
There’s an extensive author’s note in the back of the book that I found just as interesting as the book proper. I appreciate that the author gives a list of the 5 cookbooks Edna Lewis wrote; she was a chef when she grew up.
Also, 5 dessert recipes (not Edna’s) that are “meant to be made with adult supervision” are included and they use strawberries, corn, apples, and pecans. I noticed that as a vegan they’re not vegan, no surprise there!, but as with almost all recipes, they could be easily “veganized” so I’d have no qualms about sharing this book and its recipes with vegan kids. Families and youth groups could have a fun activity of reading this book, discussing it, and making a snack by using one of the recipes.
February 27, 2010
An entertaining story all about the glorious of food--real, honest-to-goodness fruits and veggies enjoyed fresh the way nature intended. You'll no doubt be hungry after you finish reading, so it's nice they have included a few recipes in the back :-) I wish there had been a bit more in the story to show what made Edna Lewis so special--it's really more a story just about her family and how much they love food, so while it clearly shows her early passion for food it doesn't tell about her experiences of becoming one of America's eminent chefs and her passion to make people aware "of the importance of preserving traditional methods of growing and preparing food." (You have to wait for the Author's Note to get that.)
September 10, 2019
Growing up on her family's farm in Freetown, Virginia - a settlement of freed slaves co-founded by her grandfather - Edna Lewis learned that food tastes best when it's "sun-ripened and freshly picked," knowledge that would stand her in good stead in her future career as a chef. Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie is a fictionalized account of Lewis' childhood, of the seasonal crops - from spring strawberries and salad greens, to summer peaches and fall apples - she helped to gather, and the mouth-watering dishes made from them.
As my friend Lisa has already noted, Gourley's book is commendable, in that it makes fresh produce immensely appealing to young readers. I also liked that it ties the food on our tables to the crops on the land, emphasizes the natural growing seasons of the year, and highlights the achievements of an African-American woman who was a pioneer in many ways. The narrative incorporates folk sayings and rhymes from the American South, and is paired with vibrant, colorful watercolor illustrations, also done by Gourley. All in all, this is an appealing picture-book, both informative and entertaining!
As my friend Lisa has already noted, Gourley's book is commendable, in that it makes fresh produce immensely appealing to young readers. I also liked that it ties the food on our tables to the crops on the land, emphasizes the natural growing seasons of the year, and highlights the achievements of an African-American woman who was a pioneer in many ways. The narrative incorporates folk sayings and rhymes from the American South, and is paired with vibrant, colorful watercolor illustrations, also done by Gourley. All in all, this is an appealing picture-book, both informative and entertaining!
May 14, 2010
A nice introduction to the idea of seasonal cooking and to practices like foraging and canning. Unfortunately the dialogue is not at all convincing, sounding more like Edna Lewis the elderly cook than Edna Lewis the energetic little girl.
October 27, 2015
I was a little disappointed in this book. I expected it to be the story of a girl who grows up to become a famous chef, since this book is supposed to be about her. But instead, it's about all of the fruits, nuts and vegetables the child and her family picked each season and the foods the mother made with them. There were random poems some characters spoke which felt out of place. The illustrations were okay, not the best watercolors I've seen and you can still make out the pencil lines where the artist first drew the picture then painted it in. I really hate that.
I do get that the book is trying to emphasize natural whole foods and regional cooking, but I don't think it does a very good job of the latter. However, if I hadn't expected it to be about Edna Lewis, I would have been less disappointed, hence the three stars. Now will someone please write a children's story that really is about Edna Lewis?
I do get that the book is trying to emphasize natural whole foods and regional cooking, but I don't think it does a very good job of the latter. However, if I hadn't expected it to be about Edna Lewis, I would have been less disappointed, hence the three stars. Now will someone please write a children's story that really is about Edna Lewis?
November 1, 2018
Edna Lewis was the Grande Dame of southern cuisine. This is a loving tribute to her Halcion childhood living on a farm and routinely harvesting fresh seasonal fruits. It is a lovely book, and it is also quite tedious. Children will be bored with it quickly. There is an interesting biographical section and some nice looking recipes, but the book is just too repetitious.
June 8, 2010
The story is inspired by the life of chef and cookbook author Edna Lewis, with inspiration from the author's own childhood. The story takes us from the first call of the whippoorwill in spring through the last harvest before the winter. I like the idea of moving through the seasons based on what crop is harvested: strawberries in spring, blackberries in summer, apples in the fall. I also love how the author mentions various dishes the crops can be used in, and even how they are canned, preserved, etc., and held over as a little taste of summer during the winter. The sayings and rhymes that went with the various crops were fun, and I loved that there was a large family all working together. Colorful, illustrations added to this books enjoyment! There's nothing overly endearing about the book, but it is different and informative and a great way to introduce children to food, recipes and where food comes from.
Good author's note, and several yummy looking recipes included in the back matter!
Good author's note, and several yummy looking recipes included in the back matter!
June 24, 2010
I wasn't he most excited about the illustrations. It was the love you could feel from the family and the whole foods that brought them together that did it for me. I like the way the book flowed with little songs and sayings throughout it. I especially enjoyed wanting more and more to be on the farm with every page of the book. My parents have a garden and mom has an over abundance of strawberries. Last night, I was over there and she was making strawberry jam for the first time. Now I have another recipe for us to use those strawberries in!
June 6, 2010
For some reason, this book didn't hold a lot of appeal for me. Surprising, since I spent many hours on my grandparents' farm enjoying the same kinds of activities and sayings as this book contained. Somehow, the presentation in this book didn't strike a chord with my own experiences. Still, I thought it did a good job exploring "fresh is best" and some of the traditions that go hand in hand with rural life.
July 18, 2020
A fictional biography of the childhood of Chef Edna Lewis. I loved the folk songs sprinkled throughout the story as the children spent their spring, summer, and fall gathering and harvesting ingredients from the land. I remember canning peaches with my mom or gathering produce from my grandmother's garden when I was a small child. While the love of gardening and growing things hasn't roosted in my own life, I can appreciate the hard work and entirely agree that the best foods are made with fresh, home-grown ingredients.
November 29, 2022
Such a sweet sweet book!! Longwood Community read for children.
I don't usually log childrens books BUT this one taught me a lot about seeds and how to store food and live off the land. AKA I'm now going to go live in a cottage and grow my own food.
I don't usually log childrens books BUT this one taught me a lot about seeds and how to store food and live off the land. AKA I'm now going to go live in a cottage and grow my own food.
November 3, 2010
I chose this book as the first one to read this week because I was immediately drawn to the illustration on the cover as well as the title. Throughout the story, the illustrations appear to be like watercolor paintings. They are all so colorful and truly make the images come alive. The food in the story looks like I could grab it and take a bite! Not only do the images make you want to eat more, the story itself inspired me to cook more!
This story tells about the childhood of a remarkable lady. Her name is Edna Lewis. She was born and raised in a farm town in Virginia that was established by her grandfather and other freed slaves. Each page in the story is like a short story in itself. Each page shares about a time when a new fruit, vegetable, or crop was ready to be picked and the experience Edna and her siblings had together when tending to the farm. The author shared sayings of what Edna and her family would chant as they harvested and picked the crops and incorporated the dish that Edna wanted to make with the food. Only after the story is over and the reader glances at the author's note do we learn that Edna was a remarkable person. She carried on her passion for cooking, preparing and using the freshest of foods to New York City where she became one of the first women chefs across the country. She is no longer alive but her cookbooks, recipes and other related stories(which can be found in the back of her book) keep her legacy alive.
What I found to be an underlying message was how much this family relied on the changing of seasons and how they were hopeful and grateful for their free land. Their land provided them with a plentiful life and traditions to be shared and carried on forever. This story has amazing vocabulary and can motivate many children to appreciate nature. It helped me to see how families worked together for the best interest of the family unit. This book is a wonderful read aloud for younger students and could be an independently read picture book for upper elementary students.
This story tells about the childhood of a remarkable lady. Her name is Edna Lewis. She was born and raised in a farm town in Virginia that was established by her grandfather and other freed slaves. Each page in the story is like a short story in itself. Each page shares about a time when a new fruit, vegetable, or crop was ready to be picked and the experience Edna and her siblings had together when tending to the farm. The author shared sayings of what Edna and her family would chant as they harvested and picked the crops and incorporated the dish that Edna wanted to make with the food. Only after the story is over and the reader glances at the author's note do we learn that Edna was a remarkable person. She carried on her passion for cooking, preparing and using the freshest of foods to New York City where she became one of the first women chefs across the country. She is no longer alive but her cookbooks, recipes and other related stories(which can be found in the back of her book) keep her legacy alive.
What I found to be an underlying message was how much this family relied on the changing of seasons and how they were hopeful and grateful for their free land. Their land provided them with a plentiful life and traditions to be shared and carried on forever. This story has amazing vocabulary and can motivate many children to appreciate nature. It helped me to see how families worked together for the best interest of the family unit. This book is a wonderful read aloud for younger students and could be an independently read picture book for upper elementary students.
March 25, 2009
Based on the childhood of African-American chef Edna Lewis, this title is highly recommended for foodies, cooks, and gardeners. As spring approaches, Edna and her family start planting, picking, and harvesting their crops, talking about recipes and sharing rhymes. The result is really quite charming.
June 1, 2017
This is a lyrical and sensual picture biography of Edna Lewis. Rather than focusing on her life events, this story evokes the passions that she carried with her the rest of her life, including seasonal eating and regionalism. I especially loved the rhymes and lyrics that Gourley worked into the text--they gave the whole book a pleasing rhythm.
September 21, 2009
This is a nice book about the different foods you gather at different seasons, and the dishes you make with them. But it just didn't speak to me emotionally.
I don't think kids who grow up far from farms will feel this book. The art work is very nice.
I don't think kids who grow up far from farms will feel this book. The art work is very nice.
March 19, 2019
Awards Received (if any):
-None found.
Appropriate Grade Level:
-1st grade through 3rd grade
Original Summary:
-This book tells the true story of a young African American girl named Edna Lewis, who was a famous chef as she grew older. The story follows Edna as a little girl with her family on their farm in Virginia and shows them planting and harvesting seasonal fruits and vegetables. The story emphasizes their hard work towards preparing field to table meals for their family, while also incorporating traditional rhymes and sayings from American farm culture.
Original Review:
-This is a great book to tell the story of an influential and hard working individual, while giving credit to a common theme in today’s society: farm to table and sustainability. I appreciate how the back of the book includes an author’s note describing Edna Lewis’s life beyond her childhood. There are also a few recipes from Edna Lewis’ cookbooks included at the back of the book which adds in potential fun activities for children to do with the parents in relation to the content. The story is a bit wordy, and requires some sort of attention span so I wouldn’t want to read this to children below 1st grade.
Possible In-Class Use:
-This book would be great to read during a unit on nutrition or sustainability, and it’s great because the characters are African American so it incorporates diversity. I enjoy how Edna Lewis is not extremely famous, which prevents the pull to only use this book for Black History Month. Since it incorporates multiple topics, it would be best to integrate it into general lessons.
-None found.
Appropriate Grade Level:
-1st grade through 3rd grade
Original Summary:
-This book tells the true story of a young African American girl named Edna Lewis, who was a famous chef as she grew older. The story follows Edna as a little girl with her family on their farm in Virginia and shows them planting and harvesting seasonal fruits and vegetables. The story emphasizes their hard work towards preparing field to table meals for their family, while also incorporating traditional rhymes and sayings from American farm culture.
Original Review:
-This is a great book to tell the story of an influential and hard working individual, while giving credit to a common theme in today’s society: farm to table and sustainability. I appreciate how the back of the book includes an author’s note describing Edna Lewis’s life beyond her childhood. There are also a few recipes from Edna Lewis’ cookbooks included at the back of the book which adds in potential fun activities for children to do with the parents in relation to the content. The story is a bit wordy, and requires some sort of attention span so I wouldn’t want to read this to children below 1st grade.
Possible In-Class Use:
-This book would be great to read during a unit on nutrition or sustainability, and it’s great because the characters are African American so it incorporates diversity. I enjoy how Edna Lewis is not extremely famous, which prevents the pull to only use this book for Black History Month. Since it incorporates multiple topics, it would be best to integrate it into general lessons.
November 2, 2023
2023 November Reading Challenge
Prompt: read a book that has apples or pumpkins in the title and/or cover
I think this is now the third kid's nonfiction book that I've read about a famous women I had never heard about. Why am I only learning about these people through kid's nonfiction? Anyone else see the problem here?
That being said, Edna Lewis's actual biography isn't until the end, but this story was sweet (pun intended) anyway. I loved seeing a family utilize nature to make, preserve, and bake food. Showing the different foods that become available during the different seasons was a treat too. The art was good and I liked the use of onomatopoeia in certain scenes.
This was a cute, sweet, wholesome story about a famous woman buried in history. Definitely a fun and delightful read.
Prompt: read a book that has apples or pumpkins in the title and/or cover
I think this is now the third kid's nonfiction book that I've read about a famous women I had never heard about. Why am I only learning about these people through kid's nonfiction? Anyone else see the problem here?
That being said, Edna Lewis's actual biography isn't until the end, but this story was sweet (pun intended) anyway. I loved seeing a family utilize nature to make, preserve, and bake food. Showing the different foods that become available during the different seasons was a treat too. The art was good and I liked the use of onomatopoeia in certain scenes.
This was a cute, sweet, wholesome story about a famous woman buried in history. Definitely a fun and delightful read.
April 14, 2021
While this story is supposedly based on the childhood of Edna Lewis, it could be about any young girl in a loving and hard-working multigenerational southern farm family. Starting with early spring, the book describes the fruits and vegetables the family harvests through the year. Little rhymes and proverbs from the family lore accompany some of the vignettes about the crops.
Author's notes at the end of the book add some information about Edna Lewis. A few simple recipes for dishes mentioned in the text are also included.
While I appreciated the joyful portrayal of growing, picking, cooking and preserving the fruits and vegetables, I wished for more biographical matter about Lewis. I found the subtitle misleading.
Author's notes at the end of the book add some information about Edna Lewis. A few simple recipes for dishes mentioned in the text are also included.
While I appreciated the joyful portrayal of growing, picking, cooking and preserving the fruits and vegetables, I wished for more biographical matter about Lewis. I found the subtitle misleading.
August 12, 2023
This picture book has some nice elements, but it's mainly focused on specific food items that people harvest, without much that's specific to Edna Lewis's life or later work as a chef. I found this fairly boring, and I would recommend the more recent, much better option
Chef Edna: Queen of Southern Cooking, Edna Lewis
instead.
December 27, 2019
This is a fictionalized childhood story about Edna Lewis, imagining the influences and life that led to her focus on fresh ingredients.
Seasons come through really strongly here. There are also a lot of sayings and songs, the kind of wisdom that is passed down through families/communities.
There's very little (even in the back matter) in the way of biography of Lewis. The majority of the back matter is recipes.
Seasons come through really strongly here. There are also a lot of sayings and songs, the kind of wisdom that is passed down through families/communities.
There's very little (even in the back matter) in the way of biography of Lewis. The majority of the back matter is recipes.
January 4, 2022
So much to love! Fantastic illustrations, text that will make your mouth water, recipes I want to try, important history to share, plus a great message about the seasons and where food comes from. I need my own copy of this to read and bake in all the seasons.
My library classified this as fiction and I would agree...it's inspired by the life of real life chef Edna Lewis but is a fictionalization of her story.
My library classified this as fiction and I would agree...it's inspired by the life of real life chef Edna Lewis but is a fictionalization of her story.
Read
March 20, 2020This story is based on Edna Lewis who was born in 1916. She lived in Freetown, Virginia where most were farmers. Edna grew up toe be a famous chef. The book talks about the different foods found on a farm throughout the seasons and also includes some recipes. I like that cute poems scattered throughout the book as well.
July 11, 2020
(early) a historical recounting of the famous African Amierican chef Edna Lewis’s childhood of reaping from the land to have enough food for the winter; the author is not related to Ms. Lewis, but certainly harbors an affinity for Ms. Lewis’s contribution to the foodie culture; 2009 hardback purchased via Madison County Public Library, Berea Friends of the Library Bag Book Sale, unnumbered pgs.
August 18, 2017
Absolutely delightful. Loved the harvesting through the seasons and especially that stocked pantry at the end. The folk songs throughout, sung during the harvest, brought warmth and history. I need to try making some of those recipes at the back....
April 5, 2019
Grade: 3rd-5th
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
I really enjoyed reading this book! It was like another book I read about gardening in different seasons. I really liked how this book described the different foods you can make with different vegetables and fruits!
Genre: Contemporary Realistic
I really enjoyed reading this book! It was like another book I read about gardening in different seasons. I really liked how this book described the different foods you can make with different vegetables and fruits!
December 30, 2019
A fiction story about one year in the life of a young girl (who eventually grew up to become a famous farm-to-table chef).
It's all about the seasons and gathering/picking/harvesting food appropriate to the season.
Full of traditional rhymes about food.
It's all about the seasons and gathering/picking/harvesting food appropriate to the season.
Full of traditional rhymes about food.
Read
October 11, 2020Follow Edna Lewis through the seasons before she was a famous chef. Learn about her childhood growing, harvesting, and collecting peaches, cherries, berries, corn, beans, greens, and more in her farming community.
October 14, 2020
Edna Lewis (who grew up to become a well-known chef) experiences all the bounties of nature throughout a year at a farm...harvesting fruits and vegetables, preparing them for meals, and preserving them for later use.
March 4, 2021
Edna Lewis was a pioneer influencing farm to table cooking. The book talks about the different crops her family grew and the food created with those ingredients.
There is a blurb about the author and Edna at the end of the book as well as several recipes.
There is a blurb about the author and Edna at the end of the book as well as several recipes.
Read
March 26, 2021This is a good biography for children to read about Edna Lewis. It is also a good book for students to explore jobs because it talks about how she loved nature and working with food and became a chef.
Age level: 4-7
Lexile level: AD810L
Age level: 4-7
Lexile level: AD810L
Displaying 1 - 30 of 81 reviews