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The air is getting cooler, fall is here, and apple season is upon us. In this blog, you’ll find interesting facts, book recommendations, and an art project to help you embrace the autumn spirit and discover more about apples.

Amazing Apple Facts

  • There are over 7,500 different varieties of apples grown throughout the world.
  • The science of apple growing is called pomology.
  • Apples come in all sizes and colors, from a bit bigger than a cherry to about the same size as a grapefruit. Depending on the variety, apples can be yellow, green, pink, or all shades of red.
  • The average person eats about 65 apples a year.
  • Apples are part of the rose family.
  • The science of apple growing is called pomology.
  • It takes the energy from 50 leaves to make one apple.
  • You can bake with apples and make apple cider, which is great for fall. It takes around 40 apples to make 1 gallon of cider and around 2 pounds of apples to make one pie.
  • Have you ever played bobbing for apples and wondered why they float? Apples are 25% air, which allows them to float.
  • Apples hold a significant place in various cultures, including Chinese culture. They are often given as gifts when visiting someone, symbolizing peace and harmony. In fact, in the Chinese language, the word for apple, “ping,” also means peace, further highlighting its cultural importance.

Apple Art:

There are many different ways to incorporate apples into your art. One of the most popular ones is apple stamping!

Here’s how to do it! 

Supplies:

  • Apple
  • Cardstock or heavy construction paper
  • Tempera or Acrylic paints

Instructions:

Have an adult cut an apple in half from top to bottom. 

Dip your apple half in paint and stamp away on your paper, making a fun pattern.

Try cutting an apple the other way, creating a star with the seed to stamp with.  

Non-Fiction

Apple by Valerie Bodden

An exploration of the life cycle and life span of apples, using up-close photographs and step-by-step text to follow an apple’s growth process from seed to seedling to mature tree.

From Apples to Applesauce by Kristin Thoennes Keller

An introduction to the basic concepts of food production, distribution, and consumption by tracing the production of applesauce from apples to the finished product.

Secrets of the Apple Tree by Carron Brown 

Who lives around the apple tree? Shine a light behind the page and see … Explore a tree up close, and you will find a miniature world filled with great surprises! From worms wriggling among the roots to birds nesting high in the branches, the hidden wonders of this unique habitat are revealed.

From Shoot to Apple by Stacy Taus-Bolstad

Describes how apples grow, from a shoot to a mature tree that produces apples in an apple orchard.

Let’s Go to the Apple Orchard by Lisa Amstutz

It’s fall, and it’s time to visit the apple orchard! Kids can take a close look at apple trees, learn how to pick apples and have some fun pressing apples. Through playful text and beautiful images, they can experience what it’s like to visit an apple orchard.

Apples for Everyone by Jill Esbaum

An introduction to the growing process, harvesting, types, and uses for apples.

Apples by Gail Gibbons

Explains how apples were brought to America, how they grow, their traditional uses and cultural significance, and some of the varieties grown.

Fiction

From Apple Trees to Cider, Please! by Felicia Sanzari Chernesky

Grab the wagon, it’s a bright autumn day, and the trees are full of ripe red apples! There’s an apple festival at the farm, and there is lots of work to do to make cider. This visit finishes with a cider doughnut and a cup of freshly pressed cider. 

The Biggest Apple Ever by Steven Kroll 

Clayton and Desmond work together to try to find the biggest apple for a school contest, but when they realize they will not win, they find a better use for all of the apples they have collected.

Ducking for Apples by Lynne Berry 

Five little ducks ride bicycles and gather apples to make a sweet treat.

Apples A to Z by Margaret McNamara 

An alphabet book double as a primer on apples and apple cultivation.

The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall 

Describes an apple tree as it grows leaves and flowers and then produces its fruit, while in its branches, robins make a nest, lay eggs, and raise a family. Includes a recipe for apple pie.

Apples for Little Fox by Ekaterina Trukhan

Fox, who hopes to become a famous detective one day, is excited about investigating his first case.

Toto’s Apple by Mathieu Lavoie

Toto’s desire for an apple causes him to launch a series of plans to reach his desired meal.

Up, up, up! : it’s apple-picking time by Jody Fickes Shapirol

Myles and his family go to his grandparents’ apple ranch, where they enjoy picking and selling apples together.

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