Saturday, January 17, 2015

Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie

Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie: A Story About Edna Lewis

Gourley, R. (2009). Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie. New York: Clarion Books.

Readability lexile: AD810L

Adult Directed - Picture books often get an AD or "Adult Directed" code. They're usually read to a child, rather than a child reading them independently. Although seemingly easy reading, some picture books actually have pretty high Lexile measures, and could present a challenging independent reading experience to an age-appropriate reader. Initially, an adult may want to read the book along with the child.

Summary:

Long before the natural-food movement gained popularity, before green markets sprouted across the United States, Edna Lewis championed purity of ingredients, regional cuisine, and the importance of bringing food directly from the farm to the table. She was a chef when female chefs - let alone African American female chefs - were few and far between, and she received many awards for her work.

With lyrical text and beautiful watercolor illustrations, author/illustrator Robbin Gourley lovingly traces the childhood roots of Edna's appreciation for the bounties of nature. The story follows Edna from early spring through the growing season to a family dinner celebrating a successful harvest. Folk rhymes, sayings, and songs about food are sprinkled throughout the text, and five kid-friendly recipes and an author's note about Edna's life are included at the end. 

Evaluation of the text based on Donna Norton's characteristics of high quality literature (Norton, D. (2011):

This book could be used as high quality literature, because it serves for multiple avenues of learning. For example, this book could be used to teach about natural-foods. This book could also be used to teach about the seasons and harvest. 

In the Ten Steps for Reviewing Children's Literature by Norton, I think this book addresses illustrations the best. Gourley traced Edna's childhood roots of appreciation for the bounties of nature. I thought they were very colorful and eye-catching. 

Literary Elements:

1. Tone: Happy; Appreciation; Devotion; Dedication. 

2. Theme: With the change in seasons, there were different crops to be harvested.

3. Characters: Edna and her family members.

Mini-Lesson:

The lesson I would teach would be about the different seasons and about harvesting different crops during those seasons. I would have my students research which crops are grown during which seasons the best and why. They could also do further research on the crops that Edna harvested in the book. 

Target Audience: Juvenile Audience


My personal reaction to this book was that I really liked it. I thought Edna was portrayed as someone who really puts a lot into what she does and truly enjoys doing. I have to give her credit for not only being a female chef, but an African American female chef, at that. I thought that the author's note at the end of the book was a great touch. I also thought that the kid-friendly recipes were cute too. 

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