One Green Apple

by Eve Bunting, Ted Lewin (Illustrator)

Overview

Farah feels alone, even when surrounded by her classmates. She listens and nods but doesn’t speak. It’s hard being the new kid in school, especially when you’re from another country and don’t know the language. Then, on a field trip to an apple orchard, Farah discovers there are lots of things that sound the same as they did at home, from dogs crunching their food to the ripple of friendly laughter. As she helps the class make apple cider, Farah connects with the other students and begins to feel that she belongs.

Ted Lewin’s gorgeous sun-drenched paintings and Eve Bunting’s sensitive text immediately put the reader into another child’s shoes in this timely story of a young Muslim immigrant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780547350110
Publisher:	HarperCollins Publishers
Publication date:	06/12/2006
Sold by:	HARPERCOLLINS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	450L (what's this?)
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

About the Author

Eve Bunting was the beloved, award-winning author of more than two hundred and fifty books for young people, including the Caldecott Medal-winning Smoky Night, illustrated by David Diaz, The Wall, Fly Away Home, and Train to Somewhere.

Ted Lewin grew up in Buffalo, New York, with two brothers, one sister, two parents, a lion, an iguana, and a chimpanzee. He became interested in art as a young boy when he would draw his brothers' world of wrestling. Ted later worked as a professional wrestler to finance his studies at the Pratt Institute of Fine Arts, where he met his wife, Betsy Lewin, also a children's book writer and illustrator. He and his wife travel around the world to research the settings for their books. While working on SACRED RIVER, which he both wrote and illustrated, Ted joined thousands of Hindus on their pilgrimage to the banks of the Ganges River in Benares, India. Ted now lives and works in the brownstone he shares with his wife and their two cats in Brooklyn, New York. For more information visit www.tedlewin.com.

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"This poignant, attractive offering fills a growing need for picture books about contemporary immigrants of Arab descent." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

"A story of contrasts, ONE GREEN APPLE...leaves the reader with...[Farah's] first step...on a journey of change." Bookpage

"[A] gentle story about being new and different, with the author delivering her message in her classically subtle style." Kirkus Reviews

"Bright, sunny watercolors evoke the sensory joys of an orchard...the text conveys both Farah's initial trepidation and eventual pleasure." Horn Book Guide

Editorial Reviews

Gr 1-4-As a Muslim girl rides in a hay wagon heading to an apple orchard on a class trip, the dupatta on her head setting her apart, she observes that while some of the children seem friendly, others are not. Her father has explained, "-we are not always liked here. Our home country (never named in the story) and our new one have had difficulties." Later, when she puts a green apple into the cider press instead of a ripe red one as her classmates have done, they protest. But the cider from all their apples mixed together is delicious-a metaphor for the benefits of intermingling people who are different. Lewin's watercolors radiate sunlight and capture the gamut of emotions that Farah experiences on this challenging second day in her new school in the U.S. They show her downcast silence and sense of isolation because she can't speak the language, her shy smile when a classmate befriends her, and, finally, her triumphant smile as she speaks one of her first English words, "App-ell." This story, along with Bernard Wolf's Coming to America: A Muslim Family's Story (Lee & Low, 2003), can heighten youngsters' awareness of what it must be like to feel different and alone and that each person has something unique to contribute to the good of all.-Marianne Saccardi, formerly at Norwalk Community College, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

Lewin's sunlit watercolors, full of space and shadow, are a lovely match for Bunting's simple but never simplistic story. A girl named Farah in her second day at school visits an orchard with her class. She has no "outside-myself" words yet. This place where girls and boys can sit together, and where she is the only one with a headcovering, seems very strange to her. But the dogs in the orchard crunching the fallen apples sound like her dog in her home country. Each child is to pick one apple to bring to the cider press. Farah chooses one that is small and green and fits in her hand, a bit different from the others, just as she is. When they make room for her, she helps push the large handle to make the cider and then takes a drink. Belches, sneezes and laughter sweet and sour sound familiar to her. "App-ell," she finally says aloud. While making its point, this is a very gentle story about being new and different, with the author delivering her message in her classically subtle style. (Picture book. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews

"This poignant, attractive offering fills a growing need for picture books about contemporary immigrants of Arab descent."
— Booklist (starred review)

"A story of contrasts, ONE GREEN APPLE...leaves the reader with...[Farah's] first step...on a journey of change." — BookPage

"[A] gentle story about being new and different, with the author delivering her message in her classically subtle style." — Kirkus Reviews

"Bright, sunny watercolors evoke the sensory joys of an orchard...the text conveys both Farah's initial trepidation and eventual pleasure." — Horn Book Magazine

From the Publisher

On the second day in her new school in a new country, young Farah's class takes a field trip to an apple orchard. From the moment the children climb on the hay wagon and Farah sees that boys and girls are sitting together and that her jeans and T-shirt make her similar but her dupatta sets her apart, the listener knows that Farah's day will be filled with anxiety, as well as joy. Charlotte Parry's narration is superb. Her voice is even, but her emphasis on specific words and phrasing, as well as elongated pauses, underscores Farah's moments of frustration and feelings of being apart. The listener’s intimate connection with the character of Farah is powerful. A.R. © AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

JUN/JUL 07 - AudioFile