Title:
One Green Apple
Author:
Eve Bunting
Illustrator:
Ted Lewin
2006,
Clarion Books
One Green Apple is a book geared
toward grades 1-5 describing a field trip to an apple orchard as seen through
the eyes of Farah, a new student who just arrived in the US from a Muslim country. She talks
about trying to fit in and about all the cultural differences she notices.
While the book does talk about cultural norms from her country (such as women
wearing head coverings and boys and girls being separated in school), it shows
Farah’s individuality and is not stereotypical. As a person who grew up in a
Muslim country I had no problems with the book because it was accurate
according to my experience. Furthermore, the illustrations were well done,
added to the story, and portrayed the diversity of all the characters (even the
Americans in the story were not all alike). I recommend this for use in a
classroom as a read aloud book to be followed by discussion on differences and
how we need to be accepting of different people. If you have English language
learners in your class this is an excellent book because they might be able to
identify with Farah and the American students can begin to understand the
struggles of their classmates to become a part of life in the USA .
This is an excellent book to introduce and discuss how students new to America feel when they don’t understand the language and customs. Even something as seemingly non-threatening as a field trip to an apple orchard can be a difficult activity for newcomers. In the story, students are allowed to pick one apple from the orchard which will be pressed and made into cider. Unfamiliar with the process, Farah does not understand that it is best to use a ripe, red apple and chooses a small green one. Even with this small mishap, Farah begins to feel welcomed by the other students in her class who make the effort to befriend her. The story offers an important lesson for students in befriending others who may look or dress differently than we do.
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