Darling book that accomplishes two things at once-- learning about how to make pie and learning about the world. ( )

Priceman strikes a wonderful balance between information about world agriculture, such as how cinnamon comes from kurundu trees in Sri Lanka, and silly story-telling, such as identifying an English cow by her polite manners. I especially love that this story challenges the convenience of simply buying ingredients at the store and instead educates about how different types of food that we eat every day come from all over the world. Also included are a recipe for apple pie and a map. C loves the whimsical touches in the illustrations, like everyone parachuting out of a plane and the chicken laying her egg in a hat.

Even when I was younger, I have always liked the book “How to Make and Apple Pie and See the World” by Marjorie Priceman. One reason I really like this book is because of the diversity created throughout the plot. Through the story, the little girl goes to different countries to get ingredients for her apple pie. For example, when she notices the market is closed she decides she’s going to go to Europe and the text says, “In that case, go home and pack a suitcase. Take your shopping list and some walking shoes. Then catch a steamship bound for Europe. Use the six days on board to brush up on your Italian. If you time it right, you’ll arrive in Italy at harvest time. Find a farm deep in the countryside. Gather some superb semolina wheat. An armful or two will do.” As she continues her trip, she goes to France for eggs, Sri Lanka for cinnamon and a variety of other places for the ingredients. All this traveling allows the reader to think about the other countries that could help her just to simply make an apple pie. I also really like that the illustrations go along perfectly with the text. At the end of the story once the little girl has all the ingredients and she’s back in America, the text says “Now all you have to do is mill the wheat into flour, grind the kurundu bark into cinnamon, evaporate the seawater from the salt, boil the sugar cane, persuade the chicken to lay an egg, milk the cow, churn the milk into butter, slice the apples, mix the ingredients, and bake the pie.” For every single step, there is an illustration beside the text. If a reader is struggling, they can use the illustrations to help them. The big idea of this story is hard work and being useful of your resources can get you where you want to be. The little girl was so determined to make her apple pie, that she traveled all over the world and got help from people in other countries to get the ingredients she needed. She didn’t let the fact that the market was closed keep her from getting what she wanted. ( )

I really did want her to see more of the world. Many too many stops in different European countries. The page on cinnamon from Sri Lanka was wonderful, though. And it's cute. Get it from the library, don't buy it. Rough map and recipe included.

Re-read August 2012. Opinion hasn't changed. ;) ( )

This book is a great read for students to learn more about the world around them. The protagonist in the book travels the world in order to find the key ingredients needed to make an apple pie. The pictures were greatly drawn, being able to depict all the different places on the globe and showing what makes them unique. As the main character finds each ingredient, the book then tells you step by step how to make the pie. The plot was well thought out and organized as we slowly build this recipe. The end of the book evens has a recipe to make your own apple pie at home if you so choose. The main idea of the book, is to share different places around the world while making a delicious treat. ( )