Review by Booklist Review
/*STARRED REVIEW*/ Gr. 3-5, younger for reading aloud. Designed for older children than is Maestro's How Do Apples Grow? , this appealing book offers information on the history and lore of apples as well as a description of how they're grown, the structure of their flowers and fruit, the role of bees in pollinating apple blossoms, and the development and harvesting of the fruit. While one useful page features a large cross section of a flower with descriptive labels, most pages include a series of smaller pictures, such as a grouping of four that shows how a bee pollinates a flower. In covering so many aspects of the subject, the book stretches across the curriculum, incorporating science, history, geography, and math. The format provides for interplay between the text and the many full-color illustrations, creating a most effective and attractive presentation of the subject. A well-designed book that elementary school teachers will clamor for each fall. Libraries in apple-producing areas may need multiple copies. (Reviewed Jan. 15, 1992)0531059391Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-5-- Bound to be useful for projects, this attractive picture book for older readers contains a lot of loosely related facts and is generously illustrated. Micucci covers apple tree growth from seed to harvest and the uses and varieties of the popular fruit. Each topic (seeds, grafting, etc.) is given a two-page spread. Small, clear paintings are paired with each easy-to-understand short paragraph or even illustrate just one sentence. A rich harvest for students doing reports, or for browsers. --Sharon Levin, University of Vermont, Burlington (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Micucci entices the reader by giving clear, detailed drawings, each labeled with just enough information to keep the reader interested. On opposite pages are descriptive paragraphs to reinforce the visual information. The watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are simple and clear, providing superb information. From HORN BOOK 1992, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
New books on apples are published regularly, but this one is outstanding. Concisely, yet with contagious enthusiasm, Micucci (who, as part of his research, planted exactly 23 apple seeds in his N.Y.C. apartment, of which ``two were successfully moved to Central Park'') describes the apple's cycle and its culture in detail and gives a delicious taste of other subjects: the apple's uses, place in world economy (the ``U.S.S.R.'' grows the most), varieties, history, lore. Micucci's lucid text flows logically from one topic to another. His pencil and watercolor illustrations are lively and attractive, while even such minutiae as the joint between twig and emerging bud are precisely observed; a page illustrating grafting is clear enough to use as a manual. An excellent survey that also sparks interest in other areas of knowledge. Though appropriate for the audience suggested by the picture-book format, the information is substantial enough to be also useful for older children. (Nonfiction. 5-9)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
