6th January Apple Tree Day

Every year, the world celebrates Apple Tree Day on 6th January. Present all around the globe, the apple tree has a long history with humanity! People have been collecting wild apples across Europe and West Asia for 10,000 years. The apple also appears in the Bible, representing the fall of man and the possibility of redemption. Besides that, the famous proverb “An apple a day keeps the doctor away” underlines the nutritional benefits of the fruit! Apples are rich in fibre, manganese, copper, antioxidants, potassium, vitamins A, E, B1, B2, B6, C and K. They also contain pectin, which acts as a prebiotic and promotes good bacteria in your gut.

The apple tree is a deciduous tree from the rose family, and is cultivated around the world as a fruit tree. It originated in Central Asia. Apple trees grew for thousands of years in Asia and Europe, before being brought to North America by European colonists in the seventeenth century, and they are possibly the oldest tree to have been cultivated.

On a trip to Cornwall we stayed in a barn on an apple orchard. There were apple trees everywhere, so such good views and places to amble, but they weren't eating apples (see photo above). They were used to make cider. Having grown up among apple trees I was surprised not to recognise any of the apple varieties, so there must be so many different types of apples.

This doesn't matter when you are a young child. Apples are apples, so what books could you read? 

My favourite to read to preschool and Kindergarten classes is Mr Brown's Magnificent Apple Tree by Yvonne Winer and Maya Winters. The students love that they know who is eating the apples even though Mr Brown does not. This book is out of print but readings of it are available online.

Another favourite is The Terrible Plop  by Ursula Dubosarsky and Andrew Joyner because the apple tree in the illustrations is important and the readers know what is going on, but the bear seems to be oblivious to its existence.

In The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara and Brian Karas, the teacher Mr Tiffin takes his class on an excursion to an apple orchard where they learn a lot about apples and apple orchards-including how apples are harvested, how cider is made, and what the different varieties of apples are-while trying to solve a riddle. 

In The Apple Tree by Lynley Dodd, Beth and Michael plant an apple tree. The tree leafs, buds, and grows apples, but a wily thief upsets their plans for the apples.

Secrets of the Apple Tree  by Carron Brown and Alyssa Nassner is an interactive book, requiring students to hold a torch behind the pages to see what creatures make their home in an apple tree.

Apples Grow on Trees by Mari Schuh  is an early reader that describes and illustrates how apples grow on trees. 

Apple Trees by Vivian French and Charlotte Voake is one of the Read and Wonder (or Nature Storybook) series that combines a story with factual text.

You may be able to find this old book, Morris in the Apple Tree by Vivian French. It is one of three very funny early readers about a cat called Morris. Morris gets stuck up an apple tree and is too scared to come down. What happens next?

This book North South book, Hubert and the Apple Tree by Bruno Hachler and Albrecht Rissler is also long out of print, but highly fitting when talking about fruit trees. They do not last for ever. Hubert grew up with the tree, climbing into its leafy branches to hide when he was a child, enjoying its luscious fruit for many years, and now they have grown old together. Then one night the tree is struck by lightning. Hubert is heartbroken to see his apple tree looking so crooked and miserable. 

Of course, there are lots of other books, I could have included about apples, but here the focus is on trees that produce apples. There are other picture books about apples here.