I'm the New York Times best-selling author of more than 50 books for young readers for all ages, including the award-winning picture book Library Lion, which was selected by Time magazine as one of the 100 Best Children's Books of All Time. My other books include the picture book Marilyn's Monster (NPR's Best Books of 2015) and the novels The Dragon of Trelian (VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers) and Evil Librarian (YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults; Sid Fleischman Humor Award Winner). My newest book is LUIGI, THE SPIDER WHO WANTED TO BE A KITTEN (a new picture book with the wonderful Kevin Hawkes, published 3/5/2024). Next up will be INTO THE WILD MAGIC, a new middle grade fantasy novel coming August 2025.
I also work as a freelance editor and teach in Lesley University's MFA program in writing for young people.
A family goes to an apple orchard to pick apples for the day and then drives back home. It isn't a novel concept, and you can find almost this exact same "story" in multiple apple-themed books. Of those books, though, I think this one was my favorite. The text is short and rhyming, which helps hold the attention of the little ones who are the target audience for this book.
This is a journey of a person who is experiencing a day in nature, in the Fall season. The rhyming worked well and the bright colors are appealing. Great book to incorporate a cooking activity: apple pie.
This book was absolutely wonderful, from the topic all the way down to the rhythm and rhyme scheme. It was a wonderful read and I look forward to featuring it in my future story times!
The rhyming worked well in this. The story made me want to go pick apples, and wish that I could remember more about the time my (Kindergarten? 1st grade?) class went to an apple orchard. It's not what I'm looking for in my fall storytime, but it works in a lap-read. I can put this on display.