There is more to an apple than meets the eye...

Mr. Peabody’s Apples

Written by Madonna
Illustrated by Loren Long
Callaway, 2003
27 pages
Realistic Fiction

            I stumbled across this book on the shelf at the JSU library and thought that the front cover was neat.  I never looked at the author until the lady at the circulation desk pointed out that this book was by Madonna.  Madonna follows the teachings of Kabbalah, and she states that this book was inspired by one of the stories told to her by her Kabbalah teacher.  This story is set in a small town that has a volunteer little league baseball team lead by the history teacher.  One day after a game, he walks home and stops at the local market.  He chooses an apple and puts it in his bag.  One of his students sees him do this and starts to tell people that he saw Mr. Peabody take an apple and not pay for it.  From there, the story takes an interesting turn commenting on life and the effects of one’s words.

            The realistic illustrations by Loren Long are done in oil paint.  The faces and landscapes in this book took my breath away.  The apple inside looks so real you could eat it, and many of the illustrations look as if they are photos collected over time.  They’re very much richly colored and shadowed illustrations almost crossing the traditional caricature with Norman Rockwell.  The font is Hoefler, a type face design that was developed for Apple Computers from 1991 to 1993.  It is bold and historic and appears on one page while the illustrations are on the other.  The book reminds me of an old scrapbook one might find in grandmother’s attic.

            Though the book is categorized for K-2, preschoolers to adults would enjoy the story and the illustrations.  It has wonderful artwork and a rich text that will hold a young audience’s attention as it is read aloud.  Older readers will enjoy reading and exploring the illustrations as they read to themselves.  I would use this book in a character education lesson to teach the importance of telling the truth and that things are not always what they appear to be.  A history lesson could be taught using this book explaining the long history baseball has in the U.S and about the different leagues that played throughout the years here.  I would also use this book in a blended social studies/language arts lesson.  I would have a child do something in front of the class (something I whisper in his or her ear), then ask the class to write down what the child did.  Since I should get 16-23 different versions, as I read the descriptions aloud to the class, the students will understand that not everyone sees things the same way even when they watch the same thing.  To my knowledge, Mr. Peabody’s Apples has not won any awards.