PPBF: Bad Apple

Happy Friday the 13th. Today I'm excited for the return of PPBF so I can share this tale about a friendship between an unlikely duo that I first heard about from my friend Shawna at The Picture Book Teacher's Edition. If you've not visited her site, do yourself a favor and bookmark it for the most comprehensive book reviews and enrichment activities anywhere!

Title: Bad Apple - A Tale of Friendship

Author/Illustrator: Edward Hemingway

Publisher: Putnam Juvenile

Date: August 2, 2012

Suitable for: ages 3-5 (I would say through 5th grade!)

Themes: Friendship, peer pressure, differences, feelings

Brief  synopsis: Mac the Apple and Will the Worm are certainly an unlikely pair. But they like hanging around until Mac's friends shun him for it. When Will decides that Mac is better off without him, Mac needs to figure out whether he'd rather be an apple with a worm or a lonely apple without one.

Opening page:  Mac was a good apple.

Why I like this book:  Worms typically spoil apples, so this dynamic duo intrigues me. Ask your students what it means that "one bad apple can spoil the whole bunch." Find out if they think that's true. Let them decide whether a worm could, in an imaginary world, live inside of an apple and be its friend. 

Resources: 

Click {here} to watch the book trailer on You Tube.
Bad Apple makes the Children's Choices 2013 reading list.
Busy Teacher's Cafe Apple Activities Galore {here}.

Ask enrichment inquiries like this:
How was Will good for Mac? 
And how was he bad?  
Do you have a best friend? 
How did you pick him/her?
Is it easy to branch out and find a new friend?
When there's a conflict with your friend, 
who helps you decide what to do?

This book would make an adorable Reader's Theater.
After the performance, students could give friendship awards to one another explaining whom they picked and what makes him/her a good fit.

Then research apples. 
What variety might Mac in the book actually be? 
Where do Cortlands grow? 
What color are Granny Smiths? 
Which apples make the best pie? 
Chart the similarities and differences between Yellow Delicious and Red Delicious using a double-bubble graphic organizer.
Have students bring in a favorite family apple recipe to share.
 Make a class cookbook.
Or ask for samples and have a taste-testing. 

Consider comparing and contrasting one or more of 
these unlikely friends:

Finally, try this object lesson about the effect how we treat people has on their fruitfulness. You'll need two apples. With one apple, have students give examples of hurtful behaviors that would not be healthy for a relationship. As they give examples, drop the apple, poke it with something sharp, bruise it with your thumb, etc. With the other apple, talk about the things friends do for one another. Shine it with every suggestion. Then compare the two pieces of fruit. Which one would you want to eat for lunch? 

Cut a piece off of the battered fruit and you'll see brown spots. Pieces of skin might even be missing. Talk about the mistreatment that caused those bruises. Set it aside and pick up the other apple.

Cut crosswise into the shiny, polished apple and they'll see beautiful flesh and a star in the middle. Then cut the bruised apple crosswise as well to compare. Both apples have a star on the inside, but one is shiny and in tact, seemingly a healthier, better-tasting choice. Why What does that have to do with friendships and relationships? Process with your students that, like the star in the middle of the apple, we shine inside and out when we treat one another with 
dignity and respect.  

If you've got a budget, buy them all an apple to take home or snack on. My friend Lisa and her intern discussed the possibility of a giving them a green apple Jolly Rancher for a cheaper option. Or make apple bread, bars or muffins. 

Excuse me while I go and make us a caramel apple pie.