How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World

A young girl, wanting to make an apple pie but finding that the local market is closed, when she goes to buy some ingredients, embarks on a whirlwind tour in this fantastical picture-book from Marjorie Priceman, gathering everything she needs in various countries around the world. Harvesting wheat in Italy and sugar-cane in Jamaica, obtaining a fancy hen (for eggs) in France, a very polite cow (for milk) in England, and the bark of a kurundu tree (for cinnamon) in Sri Lanka, she eventually finds herself stateside again, stopping off in Vermont for apples. Preparing each ingredient - this is definitely not the quickest way to make a pie! - she eventually prepares a delightful dessert. When she finds she needs ice cream, however, and show more discovers that the market is (still!) closed, what will she do...?

I enjoyed How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World, which was chosen as one of our August selections, over in The Picture-Book Club to which I belong, where our theme this month is "traveling." The matter-of-fact silliness of the premise here, as the girl heads off on a great adventure, in order to get some common ingredients, is entertaining, and the colorful artwork appealing. I think young readers will find Priceman's book engaging, while also being led to think a little bit about where some of those common ingredients come from, or how they are produced. There's a world of work behind every product we buy, and it's nice to see a sweet little children's tale communicating that so effortlessly, without ever becoming didactic. show less

I loved this book for its combined fact and fantasy. Yes, you could get an egg from France, however you probably wouldn't bring it along on your world travels so that you could have a fresh egg. Now imagine the milk. Yes, you can get cinnamon in Sri Lanka, but an elephant probably wouldn't hoist you above the leopard sleeping at the base of the kurundu tree so you could get the tree's bark. The book contains a pie recipe and guidelines for an apple-tasting party.

A cute and preposterous idea for a story. A young girl, setting out to make an apple pie, finds the market closed and travels around the world to get the ingredients she needs. This could be used as an introduction to cooking, learning where ingredients come from and travel. Couple of inaccuracies bothered me though. When she gets the semolina, she grinds up the stalks and all to make her flour. To make butter, she churns the milk. The sugar cane is boiled in water and used how? I realize this story is for fun, but I don't think it would have taken a great deal on the author's part to be a bit more accurate in some of those details. Am I being too harsh? If this is a pure nonsense book, I guess I am. I suppose I was hoping for something show more a bit more. show less

Even when I was younger, I have always liked the book “How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World” by Marjorie Priceman. One reason I really like this book is because of the diversity created throughout the plot. Through the story, the little girl goes to different countries to get ingredients for her apple pie. For example, when she notices the market is closed she decides she’s going to go to Europe and the text says, “In that case, go home and pack a suitcase. Take your shopping list and some walking shoes. Then catch a steamship bound for Europe. Use the six days on board to brush up on your Italian. If you time it right, you’ll arrive in Italy at harvest time. Find a farm deep in the countryside. Gather some superb show more semolina wheat. An armful or two will do.” As she continues her trip, she goes to France for eggs, Sri Lanka for cinnamon and a variety of other places for the ingredients. All this traveling allows the reader to think about the other countries that could help her just to simply make an apple pie. I also really like that the illustrations go along perfectly with the text. At the end of the story once the little girl has all the ingredients and she’s back in America, the text says “Now all you have to do is mill the wheat into flour, grind the kurundu bark into cinnamon, evaporate the seawater from the salt, boil the sugar cane, persuade the chicken to lay an egg, milk the cow, churn the milk into butter, slice the apples, mix the ingredients, and bake the pie.” For every single step, there is an illustration beside the text. If a reader is struggling, they can use the illustrations to help them. The big idea of this story is hard work and being useful of your resources can get you where you want to be. The little girl was so determined to make her apple pie, that she traveled all over the world and got help from people in other countries to get the ingredients she needed. She didn’t let the fact that the market was closed keep her from getting what she wanted. show less

I liked the book “How To Make an Apple Pie and See The World” by Marjorie Priceman for three reasons. First, the events and setting of the story are impossible, which makes it fun for readers to imagine they are in the main characters shoes. “Take your shopping list and some walking shoes. Then catch a steamship bound for Europe.” Second, the multicultural book allows readers to see different ingredients that you can get all over the world. For example, the young girl goes to Italy for semolina wheat, and France for eggs. All of these ingredients from all over the world can make an American Dessert. This may open student’s eyes to the countries that surround them. Third, the plot is set to make students predict what is coming show more next. It is suspenseful because readers are always wondering where she will travel next and what she will get. A big idea shown in this story is culture and diversity and how each countries culture can offer something to America. show less

This cute book is filled with illustrations that reminded me of the Madeline books.

Making an apple pie is easy.. If the local market is closed, all you have to do is catch a steamship to Europe, find semolina wheat, hope on a train to France to find a prize chicken and to encourage the chicken to lay an egg, take it with you on your travels.

Travel nexxt to Sri Lanka for the very best cinnamon, then on to England for a prize cow that will produce wonderful milk...take the cow with you on your future travels. Cast away on a boat to Jamaica to dip a jar in the salt water then when you land, trek to the sugar cane fields and bring some home. Don't forget the apples in Vermont.

Come home, bake the pie, invite some friends and then, if the show more market is closed and you need milk........ show less

This book is a great read for students to learn more about the world around them. The protagonist in the book travels the world in order to find the key ingredients needed to make an apple pie. The pictures were greatly drawn, being able to depict all the different places on the globe and showing what makes them unique. As the main character finds each ingredient, the book then tells you step by step how to make the pie. The plot was well thought out and organized as we slowly build this recipe. The end of the book evens has a recipe to make your own apple pie at home if you so choose. The main idea of the book, is to share different places around the world while making a delicious treat.