The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree

By Gail Gibbons

This book about nature and the changing seasons focuses on a young boy and a very special apple tree. In Gail Gibbons’s bright illustrations, Arnold collects apple blossoms in spring, builds a tree house in summer, makes apple pie and cider in the fall, and hangs strings of popcorn and berries for the birds in winter, among other seasonal activities. Includes a recipe for apple pie and a description of how an apple cider press works.

• Language: English
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Release date: Nov 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9780547544595

Gail Gibbons

Gail Gibbons has written and illustrated more than 170 nonfiction books for children. She and her husband divide their time between Vermont and Maine.

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Reviews for The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree

[imranahmed-2 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a boy Arnold and his tree, The author also shows and tells about the different seasons, like how the apple tree gets change with different seasons.

[annejohnson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The Seaons of Arnold’s Apple tree is an informative story about the different seasons and what happens to a tree during each season. It describes how leaves grow and apples grow and then how you can pick the apples to eat them and the leaves fall during winter. This is a good book for children learning about different seasons. It is a fun story that keeps the reader’s interest while also appealing to many different interests. One thing I thought was neat was the little information boxes in the pictures. For example, there is a box containing a recipe to make an apple pie. In the story, Arnold makes an apple pie with his family. The box shows the recipe and would allow the reader to make an apple pie as well. There is also another box about how to make an apple cider press. I thought both of these ideas were interesting because both projects would appeal to different readers. There may be a reader who loves to cook. That reader may want to make the apple pie like Arnold. However, there may be another reader who enjoys building and wants to become an engineer. They may want to do a project where they make a cider press. I thought that was a good idea that the author incorporated different boxes. The illustrations in this story were great. I liked how I could watch Arnold grow. The illustrator/author drew Arnold bigger and bigger as he went through the different seasons. I thought that was important to show because children continuously grow and seeing that happen in a picture book would be a good experience for the children to know it is normal. The big idea in this book is not as clear, but I think the main idea is that there are different seasons and there are different things that occur in each season. It is important to know what will happen during the seasons and that there are different seasons. I think this is a good book that could be used for a multitude of things.

[lmcswe1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book reminded me of my childhood, and for that I rate it 4 stars. It followed a little boy named Arnold as he played on his apple tree through all 4 seasons. When I was a kid, I had a big crabapple tree in my front yard and did many of the same things Arnold did, from building a tree house to a swing. I loved the illustrations in this book. They were very whimsical and definitely reminiscent of a child's love for imagination and pretend. Another thing I liked about this book was that it included little informational blurbs as the book went on. For example, when Arnold was harvesting the apples from the tree in fall, they included a recipe for apple pie as well as a diagram of how an apple cider press works. This definitely added to the positive aspects of the book. The main idea of this book was that imagination can take you anywhere.

[ccostakis_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a great book by Gail Gibbons that traces the life cycle of an apple tree that is loved and cared for by a boy. It traces the tree (how it looks, grows, changes) throughout the seasons in an explicit way through the images and text. It is even interactive as it provides a recipe for apple pie! This could bring in a math lesson if used in the classroom.

[kdcoshatt · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This book is about a boy and his apple tree. It goes through the different seasons of the year and describes they way the tree looks in the different seasons. Arnold always find something to do in his tree no matter what season it is. In spring he watches the buds grow. He makes a swing in the branches and watches the bees. In summer he builds a trees house in his apple tree. He picks the apples that start to grow. In the fall his apples on the tree are red and sweet. The leaves have turned golden and they fall off the tree. He gathers the leaves and puts them in his tree house. He decorates the apples on Halloween. In winter there is snow on the apple tree. He decorates the tree with strings of popcorn for the birds. He builds a snow fort around the bottom of the tree and a snowman to keep his tree company.

[wendyfincher · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Arnold has his very own apple tree. He watches it change as the seasons change. He plays in the tree throughout the year. He picks flowers from the tree in the Spring and Apples in the Fall. This book contains a Apple pie recipe and briefly explains how an apple cider press works. This is a great book to teach young students about the seasons.This is a level 2 book.