Apple Farmer Annie

Picture books are written at a variety of reading levels, and you just have to explore to determine what book is appropriate for what age. You won't find a much simpler picture book than Apple Farmer Annie, which is written with the younger audience in mind, toddler or kindergarten. This is good for our family, because our three year old daughter is in love with the book. It has vivid illustrations and a simple story very focused on its apple topic. Every two page spread has a sentence on one side and a full page picture on the other. The design of the book is charming, with bright pictures featuring the main character and her cute pets, and the opposite page holding the text in a framed square that is decorated with icons corresponding show more to the illustration. The result is like looking at wood block art, and it lends the book a home craft feel, which accentuates the plot. The story is about Annie, an industrious young woman who owns her own apple farm. She grows and harvests her fruit, uses some of the apples to create food like cider or applesauce, and then packs everything up to sell at a farmer's market in nearby New York City.

If I were considering this book simply on its own terms in comparison to other picture books I have read, I would say that it is a good book, well suited to introduce to children to themes like apples, hard work, local farmers, and different jobs. My daughter has entered the equation, though, and given me an even higher regard for this story. I don't know why - maybe her current addiction to actual apples, or the bright colors, or her love of cats and dogs - but she really likes this book. She is just moving up to the picture book level, after a stopover with spinner series Little Critters, and this is one of two books that she always chooses (the other is about St. George and the dragon, and she likes that one because her mommy always makes funny dragon noises when she reads it).

I am delighted beyond words to watch my daughter point out the dog and the cat and the trees. Clearly this book has great appeal to youngsters, even more so than I thought before my girl discovered it, and frankly, whatever my daughter loves, I love. We have read it so much that the book is worn ragged, with the pages falling out. This is high praise in my family. I'll be buying a replacement copy soon!

On a side note, I originally bought this book as a teacher, for a lesson with first graders on apples. The lesson was a success, so Apple Farmer Annie has educational resource merit, as well. show less

Easy read with very colorful pictures. Spanish & English text, however, I found that all the pictures were labeled in English only. I am not sure why this is, especially when the larger text is in Spanish!? Regardless, a fun story about a girl picking apples at her farm, bringing them to the city, and selling them at a local market.

This book was a very good read for babies and toddlers because of the elaborate and colorful illustrations. The actual plot line of the story didn't really have much to it, as the main character, Annie, just described a work day. Although, the illustrations really made the book engaging to read. The illustrations were created with very bright colors that draw the reader in and keep them engaged while they are reading. Another feature that the illustrator used to captivate the reader was the shear amount of things to look at in the illustrations. There was a lot going on in the pages that makes the reader stop and spend time looking around the page. There was also a really fun feature on page 5 where the words were bordered with show more different groupings of apples that the reader could count and use as a learning tool. Overall, this is a very engaging read and I would recommend it especially for young readers. show less

I know that this book is fiction. However, I think it is a great book to show children how apples are harvested. When Annie picks her apples, she makes lots of different foods with the fruit. This book also shows that she can bring her apples somewhere to be sold. It helps children to understand that you can make a profit on harvesting food and that being a farmer is hard work.

Ana cultiva manzanas is a good book to read to a class that may have a ELL student that is struggling with understanding English. This book has both English and Spanish words, and sentences so that the readers can understand. This book also can relate to some of the students. The book also list all the vocabulary words used at the end of the book so that the teacher can go over it with the students. I liked this book because it also explains to students that you can take a fruit and do some much with it. I would like to have this book in my classroom especially if the classroom has an ELL student who can not comprehend the teacher when they are reading it.

Annie is an apple farmer that must count and sort to get through her day. This book is a good informational book because it explains how to make different things with apples and includes the recipes in the back of the book. It contains English and Spanish to help educate kids in both.

I would set up an activity where the children would count and sort the ingredients to one of the recipes in the book. Secondly, I would use it as a language comparative book, and see the similar looking words with the same meaning in both so children will have a better understanding of both languages.

Media: colored pencil.

Typical of Wellington - simple sentences showing a fairly wide spread of things that an apple farmer might do, and what can be done with an apple harvest.