Ten Red Apples: Stories

PreS-Gr 2-A concept book that blends rhyming, counting, repetition, and animal sounds into a charming, folksy story. Hutchins's trademark wooden figures-including the farming couple from Changes, Changes (Macmillan, 1971)-populate this delightful tale in which a farmer watches his animals eat bright red apples from the tree. "Horse!' cried the farmer. Save some for me!'" When there is just one apple left, he picks it ("Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!"). Then along comes his wife, who finds "No red apples to bake in a pie. Fie, fie, fiddle-dee-fee!" The farmer saves the day when he finds another tree and they fill the basket with "More red apples hanging on a tree." The bouncy singsong text begs to be read aloud. The rhyme is easy and smooth, with a catchy refrain. An added surprise is the appearance of Rosie the hen from Rosie's Walk (Macmillan, 1968). The gouache paintings are bright and clear, and the palette includes many colors beyond the primary tones of red, blue, and yellow. There is a cheery border at the top and bottom of each page. The endpapers show the happy couple counting apples from 1 to 10 and back again. A delicious selection from a master of simplicity.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY Copyright 2000 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Bold colors dominate Hutchins's (Titch) gouache paintings, framed in fire-engine red and featuring characters depicted as hinged wooden people and animals. The rhyming, sing-song text counts down from 10 as a succession of farm animals consume apples from a tree, beginning with a horse: "Ten red apples hanging on the tree./ Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!/ Horse came and ate one, / chomp, chomp, chomp./ Neigh, neigh, fiddle-dee-fee./ Horse!' cried the farmer./ Save some for me!' " For each verse, an animal takes its fruit, then moves to the right side of the spread, creating a cumulative visual effect. After the ninth animal helps itself to the tree's bounty, a sole apple remains for the farmer, but none for his wife, who hopes to bake a pie. In the closing spreads, the farmer spies another tree bearing 10 apples, setting youngsters up to start all over again. Hutchins's repetitive narrative, with its long vowel sounds coupled with crayon-bright toy characters, will invite audience participation and boost beginning readers' self-confidence. Ages 3-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2000 Publishers Weekly Used with permission.