The Apple Tree’s Discovery by Peninnah Schram

Schram, Peninnah and Rachayl Eckstein Davis  The Apple Tree’s Discovery  Illustrated by Wendy W. Lee  Kar-ben Publishing, 2012. $16.95  PICTURE BOOK  Content: G   

A little apple tree sits in a forest of tall oak trees.  The apple tree is jealous of how the oak trees are so tall that it looks like the night stars hang in them, so he asks God to give him stars in his branches.  God tells the tree to be patient.  As the seasons change, eventually the ungrateful apple tree grows apples, but when he still isn’t happy with what he has, God blows the apples off the tree.  When the apples burst open he shows the apple tree that there are stars inside the apples if he looks at them the right way.  The stars are actually the seeds inside arranged in a star pattern.  

I can’t tell if this book is about God answering our prayers and helping us obtain our dreams or about seeing life from a different perspective so we can see our dreams answered.  I wanted the apple tree to learn to be grateful, which is where the book looked to be going, but didn’t end up that way.  The illustrations weren’t great either.  

EL (K-3)-OPTIONAL.  Reviewer, C. Peterson.