No Ordinary Apple

April 15, 2013
When Elliot gets to his neighbor Carmen’s house after school, he’d love a snack, and candy sounds just dandy. Instead, Carmen offers him an apple, and shows him that the fruit is extraordinary—if only he can notice its taste, look, smell, feel, and crunch when bitten. This elementary lesson in Buddhist mindfulness is written in language children can readily understand, and Pascuzzo’s brightly colored drawings explore Elliot’s thoughts as he responds to Carmen, as well as the scene in her kitchen. While the book uses a simple vocabulary, it is somewhat discursive, which might puzzle or lose the youngest readers (“Eat the apple like you have never tasted one before. Only then will you discover what makes it so special”). Parents will appreciate the call to slow down and pay attention, advice that’s good for a lifetime. (Avoiding candy is a bonus lesson.) For children, the book will open new perspectives on the fruit of knowledge. Ages 4–8.

August 1, 2013

K-Gr 2- No Ordinary Apple guides readers through an eating experience unlike our everyday food encounters. When Elliot arrives at his neighbor's house after school, he looks for a snack. When offered an apple, he responds, a bit dramatically in words and illustration, "An apple! Don't you have any candy?" Carmen, his neighbor, then guides him through eating an apple using all of his senses. For example, he sees that red apples aren't just red but red, green, and a little brown, he feels that they aren't smooth but a bit bumpy, and when rolling a piece around in his mouth he gets slightly different tastes in different areas of his mouth. The book concludes with an encouragement to try mindful eating, using all of your senses, with other foods. Illustrations are bold and colorful and the combination of text and illustration provides an overall effect of enthusiasm for the topic. This would be a fun book to share with a class in the fall-give the students apples and let them try it.-Stephanie Farnlacher, Trace Crossings Elementary School, Hoover, AL

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