Books, Books, Books!

Today, I want to share a few books with you. We have more apple books than this at the library, but these are some that I thought would be good for you. :)


My Apple has all sorts of good information about apples and even a few experiments to try... Do you think an apple will sink or float in the water?

Johnny Appleseed tells the story about the man who planted hundreds (or maybe thousands!) of apple trees!



Ten Red Apples is a fun story. Will there be any apples left on the tree for the farmer?

Apple Farmer Annie is all about the apples that Annie grows. What wonderful treats will she make?




In That Apple is Mine, the animals fight over who should get the last apple. Can Bear find a solution to make everyone happy?

The Mouse and the Apple tells about the apple Mouse finds on the tree and how all the animals try to make it fall down. Who will have the best idea?



This curious librarian wants to know which of these books you read! Let me know which ones you enjoy... or if you find other good apple books, please share them with me!

Next week... Pumpkins!

Time to Play!

Today I have a little activity for you to do. You'll need a grown up to help you and you may want to wear some old clothes!

We're going to make apple prints. They're simple, but lots of fun!

First, pick out one or two nice apples. Next, have a grown up cut them in half. It's fun to cut one up and down and one across. You'll get different pictures when you do the prints!

Next, have that grown up put some paint on a paper plate for you... use 2 or 3 different colors to make it bright and cheery.

Finally, dip your apple in paint and use it like a stamp on some blank paper.










I'm curious about what your project looks like! When it's dry, can you bring it to the library to show me next time you're here?

Time for a Treat!

You've done so good learning about apples this week... let's share some ideas for apple treats!

There are some super easy recipes, like cutting up an apple and dipping it into caramel... YUM!!! I'm going to share a family recipe that's really easy to make. You'll need a grown up to cut the apples and put everything in the oven for you, but you can help mix everything up!
Apple Crisp

You'll need:
7 or 8 medium size tart apples
1 1/4 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/8 tsp. nutmeg
1 Tbsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp orange juice (I've left this out and it still tastes fabulous!)
1 1/4 c. flour
1/4 tsp. salt
8 Tbsp. soft butter

Preheat oven to 375. Peel, core and slice apples into a 9-inch buttered baking dish. Mix 1/2 cup brown sugar with cinnamon and nutmeg. Sprinkle over apples. Add lemon and orange juice.
In small bowl, mix together flour, salt and remaining brown sugar. Cut in butter and sprinkle mixture over apples. Bake 45 minutes or until apples are tender and top is brown. Makes 6 servings.

Thanks, Aunt Miriam, for this recipe!


It's amazing warm with vanilla ice cream!





Ok... time for the curious librarian question! What is your favorite way to eat apples? Come on... make me want to go buy more apples!

Apple Picking

I took my girls apple picking over the weekend. I should have gone a couple of weeks ago. The apples are almost all gone! But at least we're having good weather for it.

Did you know that there is a right at wrong way to pick an apple? If you do it wrong, the apple doesn't come off the tree nicely... and you could hurt the tree!

Let's let Alicia tell us how to pick an apple...

So, the curious librarian wants to know... Have you ever gone apple picking? If so, where did you go?

Bee-autiful!

What do you think when you see bees? Do they scare you? Do you think that they are interesting? Bees can be a bit scary, but they're also very important.

Without bees, we wouldn't have any apples! When bees are gathering their nectar to make honey, they're also spreading pollen from one apple tree to the next. And if they didn't do that, the apples would not grow!

In this video, Alicia explains how bees make their honey.



So, tell this curious librarian what bees are good for and how they make you feel. (I'll be honest... I get very nervous around bees!)

Apples of My Eye!

Welcome to the Children's blog @ the library. This week we'll be talking about apples. We'll have some activities and recipes for you to enjoy at home. So sit back, kids, and enjoy some time with your parents!

There are so many different kinds of apples. Some are sweet. Some are tart. Some are crispy and some are more soft.

Today we're going to look at how apples grow.








Apples grow on trees like this one, but you probably already knew that. Newer trees, like this one don't have a lot of branches. As the tree gets older, it will spread out and have more branches... and grow lots more apples!








In the spring, apple trees are covered in blossoms. Those blossoms are where the apples will grow. Soon the blossoms will fall off and the apple will start growing.









Then, in the fall, the apples will get to their full size and be ripe. That's when we can pick and eat them!










So, I'm curious.... what's your favorite kind of apple?