Are your children getting nervous about school? A great book for ages 4 to 8 for overcoming the first-day-of-school jitters, is The Apple Doll by Elisa Kleven. Published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux, the book is about little girl Lizzy who is very nervous about starting school. To feel better, she picks an apple and creates a makeshift doll named Susanna to accompany her. Lizzy’s mom then shows her how to make  a real apple doll, and with Susanna’s help, Lizzy finds a way to overcome her shyness and make friends at school.

The book comes with instructions on how to make an apple doll. (Click here to download the apple doll instructions from the book.) You can learn more about apple dolls at Apple Dolls, An American Folk Doll website. FamilyFun.com also has instructions for making apple dolls.

If you’re interested in reading more about apples – how they’re planted, grown, and harvested – check out Apples by Jacqueline Farmer (illustrated by Phyllis Limbacher Tildes). From Charlesbridge Publishing, this book is for aes 4 to 8. However, you’ll learn something about apples too. For instance, do you know what the difference is between cider and apple juice? (I didn’t until I read the book.) Cider is unfiltered apple juice. I dunno, the stuff at the store looks pretty filtered to me. The book also includes a recipe for apple pie.

Apple Recipes from A Readable Feast:

• Vulcan Apple Pastry
• Abigail Adams Apple Pan Dowdy
• Apple Recipes from Around the World

Other Sources:

• Apple recipes from Martha Stewart
• Two apple dishes from Simply Recipes – kid friendly Apple Chicken Quesadillas and Apple Turnovers
• Old-fashioned apple recipes from the Apple Journal
• Apple dishes from Allrecipes.com

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