If you don't want to cook or buy a pie , read a book about one.
Looking for more picture books about apples?
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
'When an orchardist's apple trees are crowded out by looming development, he learns how to transform his altered world so he can continue to bake the perfect apple pie. An inspiring story about urban greening and creative adaptation to change.'
