Remember in last week’s Read Aloud Thursday post how I said I hoped to share our apple-themed books in an upcoming post? Well, those books had to go back to the library before I had a chance to write them up. However, I saved out our favorite to share with you. That’s what Read Aloud Thursday is for me, mostly, anyway–a sharing of the best!
My girls LOVED this book. The Apple-Pip Princess, written and illustrated by Jane Ray, is actually only marginally about apples at all, but it is a fairytale of sorts that doesn’t depend on a whole lot of magic or good genes to force a happy ending, so I call it a winner, too. It’s the story of three sisters whose mother has died, of course, and their rather old and despondent father, the king, is ready to hand one of them the reins to the kingdom. However, he will make his decision based on something noteworthy the girls do. The older sisters set out immediately to build towers, and they try to outdo each other. The youngest daughter, Serenity, who is “little and shy and quite ordinary,” takes the treasures her mother left her and does something both practical and extraordinary with them. I won’t reveal what, of course, but let me say it is very satisfying. Jane Ray’s illustrations are very detailed and stylistically unusual; my girls have really studied them. This one earns a Highly Recommended.
I actually have another book to share, but my post got eaten last night before I had a chance to schedule it (hence the late posting this morning, too), so the other book will have to wait for another day. Don’t you just love technology? 🙂
What has your family been reading together this week? Leave a link below, or simply leave a comment and tell us about it!
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Have a happy Read Aloud Thursday!
Filed under: Picture Books, Read Aloud Thursday |
Hope Is the Word 
The Apple-Pip Princess sounds good, Amy. It’s also very familiar, but I can’t remember where/when I’ve heard it before. I guess I should check out the book to make sure the ending matches what I’m thinking of.
Thanks for the recommendation and for hosting Read-Aloud Thursday. I’m really enjoying it all!
It’s my pleasure!
We’ve read “The Ghost’s Dinner” so many times this week I can read it by memory.
Who’s the author of “The Ghost’s Dinner”? I haven’t heard of it.
Thanks for joining in!
As the weather turns colder and we’re inside so much more, our cuddly times on the couch reading aloud have increased — one of the bright spots of cold weather.
We recently discovered Simon & Adele by Barabara McClintock. I’ve never heard of it before but it’s a sweet story of siblings in turn-of-the-century Paris. The text is a bit younger than my girls (5 & 3), but they enjoyed them anyway. Because there are relatively few words, we spent a lot of time looking at the beautiful illustrations. The historian in me loved pretending that I was walking the streets of Paris in 1900. My daughters’ favorite part was that in one picture, another of our favorite storybook characters showed up in the background! That delighted them to no end so I checked out the sequel, Simon & Adele in America, to see if the same thing happened. Again, one of their favorite characters made an appearance.
We’ve also recently enjoyed a couple other pictures books with a dash of history in them: The President & Mom’s Apple Pie by Michael Garland and A Big Cheese for the White House by Candace Fleming. These 2 books introduced my girls to Presidents Taft & Jefferson. I love sneaking in history!
Thanks for all your suggestions each week. I take your list to the library nearly every trip!
Oh, these sound fabulous! Thanks for sharing!!!
This looks like a book my daughter will love. Thanks for the recommendation.