Stacy Taus-Bolstad

This is a nice book for children that uses bright photographs to explain how apples get into our homes. It begins by saying "Yum! An Apple!" How does it grow?". And then the author gets down to the nitty gritty of the matter and explains to us that farmers use parts from two apple trees to start a new apple tree. This is when the book discusses "shoots" and we get to see how the grafting is done.

After that, book describes, in simple terms, how a 3-year old tree will flower, and how after show more the petals fall that the nascent apples are left behind. It quickly shows how apples grow, are picked, and then make their way to markets, where finally they reach us.

Talking Points :::
I have to say that I learned some things from this book. Not so much from the text but from the photos.

To that end, I thought the pictures were well chosen. Including macro and more close up shots when appropriate.

The age range for this book would is fairly wide. Children as young as 4 and perhaps as old as 8 or 9 might get something out of it, even though it it is written at a First Grade level (see AR info below).

The font is large, and there isn't a great deal of text per page. As minimal as it is there is still enough to adequate explain to children what they are seeing.

From Shoot to Apple would be good for the classroom or for homeschoolers. It's a quick read that covers material nicely.

Accelerated Reading Level: 1.7

Pam T~
mom and reviewer at BooksForKids-reviews.com show less

Easy read that goes through the process of making ice cream. My students were a little bored with the text as the features were predictable and repetitive.

This book is about the total process of making ice cream, starting with gathering ingredients.

Summary: This is a book about how milk is obtained from a cow and follows the process of how ice cream is made.

Personal Reaction: This is a neat book that would be a great way to introduce a farm unit. I enjoyed reading the process and even learned that the mixture is heated to kill germs.

Classroom Extension: Make ice cream using the "ice cream in a bag" recipe.

List all things that we can make from milk on the board and see how many the kids can come up with.