Late summer and early fall mean apple season is here! In addition to all the yummy goodness, it’s a great time of year to include some apple-themed learning with your kids. in our house, this always means reading good children’s books about apples.
here are 20 books that became our favorites:
You are reading: Children’s books about apples
apple books for preschoolers
Here are some of our favorite apple stories for preschoolers and kindergarteners:
bad apple: a friendship story
by edward hemingway (ages 3-5+)
My daughter and I really liked this story about the friendship of an apple named mac and a worm named will.
mac and you will become the best of friends. But when the other apples see who Mac’s friend is, none of them will play with him. They even bully Mac and call him names like “bad apple” and “rotten”.
will feels bad and decides to leave mac so he can be a good apple again.
although the other apples will now play with mac, mac realizes that no one can replace his friend. So Mac decides that he’d rather be a bad apple than a sad apple without his best friend.
the perfect day of the rotten apple
by edward hemingway (preschool – grade 1)
a continuation in the friendship of these 2 unlikely friends.
Mac the apple and Will the worm plan to have a perfect day at the watering hole.
but the day doesn’t go as planned. the positive thinking and creative ideas of these best friends make for a perfect day anyway.
curious george apple harvest
Curious George fans will enjoy this one.
In this story, George accidentally turns on an apple cider machine and learns how cider is made.
ten apples on top
by dr. seuss (preschool – grade 1)
a classic dr. seuss story for the little ones.
books about picking apples
Here are some of our favorite children’s books to read about apple picking:
apples, apples, apples
by nancy elizabeth wallace (preschool – grade 2)
If you’re planning on going apple picking, this might be the perfect educational book to read beforehand.
It’s about a family of bunnies who take a trip to an apple orchard. the farmer in the orchard teaches the family all about apples.
There’s a lot of apple learning packed into this story. I would say that it is more of an educational book, disguised as history. story writing quality is a bit plain but still a great book for any apple drive.
kids will learn about varieties of apples, how to pick an apple, the parts of an apple, how to grow an apple tree, apple seeds, a recipe for applesauce, and more.
pinkalicious: apples, apples, apples!
by victory kann (ages 4-8)
A children’s book that did not disappoint!
pinkalicious and her brother search through row upon row of apple trees for an apple called the “pink lady.” she was so excited when she finally found it, that she picked too many.
oh the challenges of bringing all those apples home! besides that, what are they going to do with all of them? There are only so many fried apples, dried apples, diced apples, sliced apples, apple crumble, apple pie, applesauce, apple cider, and apple ice cream that a family can eat.
Pinkalicious comes up with ways to share her apples with the rest of Pinkville.
There are over 40 stickers included. about half of them are decent sized stickers, the other half are smaller.
apple picking day!
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(skip to reading) by candice ransom
a book on picking apples for beginning readers.
The book has simple sentences with lots of rhymes and colorful pictures. the font is large with limited words per page.
fancy nancy: apples galore!
(I can read!) by jane o’connor
In this story, Nancy’s class goes on a field trip to an apple orchard.
a beginning level 1 reader, perfect for kids who are sounding out words.
Fantasy books are great for teaching vocabulary. Some fancy vocabulary words are used in the story and are always quickly explained.
apple orchard riddle
by margaret mcnamara
The book is about a trip to an apple orchard. the class learns how apples are harvested and stored and how apple cider is made.
It also teaches a lesson about how children can learn differently.
there is a little girl in the class who is often daydreaming and is usually the last to get somewhere. At the beginning of the journey, the teacher gives the class a riddle to solve. in the end it is the girl who solves the riddle.
a lesson that shows that just because some don’t do things the way we would, we shouldn’t assume they are less intelligent or less intelligent.
I found the book a bit long myself, but I added it to my list because I think it’s a good fit for an apple-themed educational story.
children’s books about apple pies
These are some of our favorite apple pie books for kids:
how to make an apple pie and see the world
by marjorie ariceman
a cute and funny story about how to make an apple pie.
An apple pie is easy to make until the store is closed and you have to travel the world to collect all the ingredients.
There is an apple pie recipe included in the book. We’ve never tried it, but we’ve made this delicious German Apple Pie Recipe.
For children ages 3-7, but enjoyed by all ages. my 9 year old son still enjoys it when I read it to him.
amelia bedelia’s first apple pie
by Herman Parish (Preschool – Grade 3)
amelia bedelia visits her grandparents.
She goes with her grandfather to buy apples for Grandma’s apple pie. When they get back, Grandma teaches Amelia how to bake an apple pie.
Amelia secretly makes her own apple pie which ends up saving the day.
the apple pie daddy baked
by lauren thompson
This would be a good story for younger children, from toddlers through kindergarten.
My 9-year-old didn’t like this book because it’s so repetitive, but I think she would have liked this book if she were a preschooler.
apple pie
by nienke van hichtum (preschool – grade 2)
a heartwarming story that would make a great read aloud.
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It’s about an old lady who has everything she needs to make an apple pie, except apples.
He has some plums and sets off to see if he can trade those plums for some apples.
is a classic story of trading and is a wonderful example of how being nice is the best way.
annie, the apple fairy
by thomas nelson (preschool – grade 2)
“annie the apple pie fairy” is a story of friendship. his message is that bigger is not always better, but working together and friendship is the most valuable thing.
Annie is a television chef who bakes apple pies.
But when the strudel fairy has a new show and makes the wackiest cakes and has the most elegant gadgets, Annie feels her position as queen of cakes is threatened.
I’m sure the girls will love this one!
children’s books about johnny appleseed
learning about johnny appleseed? here are 2 of our favorite johnny appleseed books for kids:
who was johnny appleseed?
by joan holub (grades 3 – 7)
I highly recommend this chapter book.
It’s a good read while still being quite educational. Kids will get an in-depth look at the life of Johnny Appleseed.
My daughter and I learned a lot and really enjoyed this biography.
johnny appleseed: my story
(step to reading step 3) by david l. harrison (preschool – grade 3)
children’s books about applesauce
here are some fun and educational books on how to make applesauce:
apple sauce day
by lisa j amstutz (preschool – grade 2)
There are beautiful images in this story about one family’s multi-generational tradition of making applesauce.
apple sauce season
by eden ross lipson (preschool – grade 2)
This story also describes another family’s tradition of making applesauce.
In this story the family lives in the city and buys their apples at the local market.
at the end of the book is a recipe for homemade applesauce.
non-fiction children’s books about apples
Here are two of our favorite non-fiction educational books about apples:
apples
by gail gibbons
This non-fiction picture book is about:
- history of the apple, including the johnny apple seed
- parts of an apple
- pollination
- life cycle of an apple a throughout the seasons
- how to plant and care for an apple tree
- how an apple cider press works
- apple varieties
- instructions for making an apple pie
how do apples grow?
by teacher betsy (kindergarten – grade 3)
The cover isn’t too fancy, but don’t let that fool you. This little book contains a lot of apple science.
explains the life cycle of an apple tree through the seasons.
The book goes into detail about:
- the parts of the apple tree flower
- the pollination and fertilization of the flower
- all the background of how an apple becomes an apple.
It’s like the in-depth discussion of the birds and the bees for the apple.
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