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 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 ( )