Apples, Apples, All Year Round!

Barbara Bietz is an award-winning author and the creator of the website Jewish Books for Kids where she interviews authors, illustrators, editors, and more. Barbara is a former chair of the Sydney Taylor Book Awards committee (Association of Jewish Libraries). When she isn’t writing, Barbara enjoys playing guitar and building dollhouses. She lives with her family in Southern California. June Sobel loves picture books for the way they awaken the wonder of words in children and keep the child alive in adults. Creating books for the very young pre-readers is her passion. She is the author of more than 10 picture books, including the best-selling THE GOODNIGHTTRAIN series. June enjoys exploring the world, hiking, and photography. Her website is junesobel. She lives in Westlake Village, California. JuneSobel loves picture books for the way they awaken the wonder of words inchildren and keep the child alive in adults. Creating books for the very young pre-readers is her passion. She is theauthor of more than 10 picture books, including the best-selling THE GOODNIGHTTRAIN series.  June enjoys exploring theworld, hiking, and photography. Her website is junesobel. She lives in Westlake Village, California. Ruth Waters creates illustrations usingcollage, decorating the paper by hand using brushes, rollers -even old toothbrushes - to create unique textures. As anauthor/illustrator she has five published picture books and been shortlistedfor the World Illustration Awards 2019 and 2020, Children's Book Category. Shelives in England.

This deceptively simple story celebrates a year ofJewish holidays using apples as the through line. With sparse, rhyming text,each spread celebrates a different Jewish holiday, beginning with Rosh Hashanahand continuing through Sukkot, Simchat Torah, Hanukkah, Tu B’shevat, Purim,Passover, and Shavuot. While the minimal text doesn’t explain much, each shortrhyme includes something about the holiday, whether it is the apples and honeyeaten on Rosh Hashanah or the trees planted on Tu B’Shevat. The illustrationsare collage style on solid white backgrounds. A fox, bear, and raccoon aredepicted fairly realistically, with a slightly cartoony feel. They wear no clothes,but do sit at tables and wave flags. The simple, bold illustrations pop on thewhite backgrounds and will catch and engage the attention of toddlers andpreschoolers. The sparse text and bright illustrations would work equally wellfor a story time or a one-on-one reading. The lack of explanation makes thisbook most effective for a knowledgeable Jewish adult to share with a child; thegeneral appeal of food and holidays will speak even to the uninitiated. Briefback matter includes a short author’s note on the back cover. VERDICT This willbe a welcome addition to Jewish schools and libraries looking for holiday booksfor their youngest readers. Public libraries will benefit from including thistitle as well. PreS-K– –Amy Lilien-Harper, School Library Journal Apples join the joy of Jewish holiday celebrations in thisrollicking, perfectly rhymed journey through the Jewish year. Traditional appletreats include apples and honey for Rosh Hashanah, apple decorations for theSukkah, applesauce to accompany Hanukkah latkes, apples in the Passovercharoset and more, making this a book to share all year long. The artwork isbright and cheery, with lots of holiday symbols. Lively animal characterscelebrating the special days will have young readers turning pages and comingback for more. Yum!This book is eligible for Sydney Taylor Book Award consideration. The book hasliterary merit with its spot-on, smoothly rhyming, memorable text. Bright,lively digital art with adorable animal characters and bold clear text stylemake this a perfect fit for children ages one through six. With its connectionto many Jewish holiday traditions, it has positive Jewish cultural content,making it valuable for the Jewish community as well as a wonderful introductionto Jewish holidays for children of all backgrounds. --The Sydney Taylor Shmooze