Applesauce Day - Perfect Picture Book Friday #PPBF Plus a Giveaway

Growing up an army brat, my family moved a lot. When we finally settled in Washington State, I can remember my mother diving into food preservation. We canned pounds of fruit, made applesauce, picked and froze fresh vegetables, and made tons of pies. I fell in love with the cover of this book, the instant I saw it. I have so many fond memories of grinding apples for sauce with my mother, grandmother, brother, and sister.

Applesauce Day

Author: Lisa Amstutz

Illustrator: Talitha Shipman

Publisher: Albert Whitman & Company (2017)

Ages: 4-8

Fiction

Themes:

Family (inter-generational), seasons, cooking, science, and food production.

Synopsis (From Publisher):

Maria and her family visit an apple orchard and pick apples. Then it’s time to turn the apples into applesauce! Every year they use the special pot that has been in the family for generations to make applesauce. First they wash the apples. Then Grandma cuts them into quarters. Follow each step in the process as everyone helps to make delicious applesauce!

Opening Lines:

I spy the big pot on the counter right away.

"Hooray!" I say. "It's Applesauce Day!"

Hannah cheers.

Ezra bangs his spoon.

Why I Like This Book:

This book will bring back sweet, sticky, and tiring memories of childhoods spent canning and making applesauce. It also provides the suburban and urban kids a taste of what the countryside has to offer and where applesauce comes from.

After loading the car, the whole family heads to the orchard to pick apples. Then it's off to Grandma's house to make applesauce. While the apples cook, Mama and Grandma both remember their childhood days of making applesauce. The same special pot for applesauce spans three generations of families and holds Maria's dreams of someday using it make her own applesauce. It is truly "the perfect pot for applesauce."

The gentle text and joyous images make a wonderful read aloud book, while skillfully and subtly exposing kids to science, plant science, cooking, and family traditions. The apple facts and recipe in the back further spur interest in apples and applesauce. For instance, did you know applesauce has been in orbit?

Resources:

- make applesauce with your child or classroom & enjoy Johnny Appleseed activity sheets (http://adayinfirstgrade.com/2013/09/how-to-make-applesauce-in-your.html)

- learn about different types of apples and which are used for sauce, pies, and snacks. Have an apple sample party & many types, do you have a favorite or maybe two or three?

- the Agricultural Literacy Curriculum Matrix created a K-2 lesson plan "A is for Apples" (https://www.agclassroom.org/northcarolina/matrix/lessonplan.cfm?lpid=374

Be sure to comment here, or on Lisa Amstutz's interview post, to be entered for a chance to win a free copy of Applesauce Day, generously provided by Albert Whitman & Company.

This post is part of a series by authors and KidLit bloggers called Perfect Picture Book Fridays. For more picture book suggestions see Susanna Leonard Hill's Perfect Picture Books.