Top 10 Books for August

So if you haven't already guessed, I have decided this month to look at apples. School will be starting soon and apples are a huge part of the start of school. The great thing about apple books is that there are so many that are not just about apples...take a look!

Apple Fractions by  Jerry Pallotta is a fun and delicious way to learn about fractions. Not only will kids learn about the different kinds of apples, they will learn how to divide the apples up. Even better would be to demonstrate the apple fractions in class and let the kids snack at the end!!

Edward Hemingway has written a wonderful book called Bad Apple A Tale of Friendship.
Mac the apple and Will the worm are the best of friends, that is, until Mac is called "rotten" and a "bad apple" because of his friendship with a worm. Mac is so confused and doesn't know how to stand up to these bullies so he decides to not be friends with Will anymore. Mac soon finds himself so sad when Will is not there with him, so he decides that he would rather be a rotten apple with a friend than a sad apple without. This is a wonderful story about bullies and friendship, a great beginning of the year read aloud!

This book How to Make an Apple Pie and See the World by Marjorie Priceman will take readers around the globe finding the best ingredients for the delicious apple pie. This is a great book for pulling out the atlas or globe and marking all the stops along the way. At the end is a recipe for an apple pie, which can be used to really make the pie, or just sequence how the pie is made. Ether way your students will love all the beautiful illustrations and exotic locations.

No Ordinary Apple by Sara Marlowe teaches a great lesson on being mindful as well as slowing down to appreciate what is in front of you. Elliot is given a snack by his neighbor, one of which he really doesn't want, an apple. But when his neighbor makes him slow down and use all his senses to appreciate the apple, he learns that the apple is really an extraordinary snack. This is a great book for examining apples by way of your senses.

I couldn't have an apple book list and not include Ten Apples Up On Top! by Dr. Seuss. Not only does this book use apples but it has rhyming and counting all in one place. A perfect book for this list.

I love this book because of the illustrations. The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall is a great story about an apple tree and all that needs to happen around and to it for it to produce the tasty apples used to make the delicious pie at the end. This book shows an apple tree in all the seasons, how bees help pollinate the tree and that our fine feathered friends use the tree to protect them as they make their home in the branches. This is a great book for looking at how apple trees grow.

The Giving Tree by Shel Silvertein is a must for this list. It needs little introduction or explanation so I will just finish this off with a single word...love.

The Life Cycle of an Apple Tree by Linda Tagliaferro is a great non-fiction book with wonderful photographs showing the life cycle of the apple tree.

 

If you have ever swallowed an apple seed and had others tell you that an apple tree was going to start to grow in your stomach you will be able to identify with this wonderful story. Rosie's older sister Katie has convinced her that she will soon have apple tree branches coming out her ears. This news both delights and frightens Rosie. Katie's little white lie has turned Rosie's imagination into a great big apple adventure. This story, What's So Terrible About Swallowing an Apple Seed? by Harriet Lerner is silly and beautiful and full of imagination and life lessons. A library must have!

Apple Tree Christmas by Trinka Hakes Noble is a beautifully illustrated book that transports its reader to a simpler time. A time when something as simple as an apple tree could mean so much to a little girl and her family. This will soon be one of your favorite Christmas stories!

I hope you enjoy these apple books and find a time to incorporate some of them into your lessons throughout the year.

Happy Reading!