Bold colors and folksy patterns with a pop-up page

One red apple finds its way from orchard to market in this breathtakingly lovely picture book from Harriet Ziefert and Karla Gudeon. From that apple comes the seed which produces the tree, complete with beautiful white and pink blossoms, and (of course) red apples.

With only a few words per page, there isn't much to Ziefert's text, which hardly qualifies as a story, although the cyclical rhythm of nature, with red apple producing red apple, is evident throughout. The chief appeal here - and it is more than enough to compensate for the lack of narrative interest - is Karla Gudeon's gorgeous artwork! It has a folksy style - midway between quilt and mosaic - with deep, vibrant colors and whimsical details. High-quality paper stock, a fold-out page showing the growth of the apple tree, and adorable decorative endpapers round out the charms of this appealing title. One Red Apple is apparently only Gudeon's second picture-book - the first being last year's Hanukkah Haiku - so it is hardly surprising that I had not heard of her before. Naturally, I'll be keeping my eye out for her work in the future... ( )

The illustrations are really the main selling point of this picture book. I adore the images and would love to frame each and every page and hang them up in my living room. The text is simple and short. The book tells the story of an apple, from picking it off the tree to eating it, planting the seeds and growing a big apple tree. By the time I read this book for storytime, no one was really paying attention, kids were walking/running/talking and it wasn’t appreciated the way it should have been. In hind sight, I should have read this book first.

http://librarycrossing.wordpress.com/ ( )

This beautifully illustrated story shows the cycle of an apple from a tree, someone's house, back to a seed, and all over again! The illustrations are also adorable and lively. On every page there is one to two key words that are in a different font in order to stand out to readers. These are familiar words to children. It will definitely show children that apples don't come from nowhere in a fun way!