Projects to Do With "The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree" by Gail Gibbons

Weekly Trip to the Library

There is no better time to learn about apple trees then the start of autumn, which is apple harvest season.

The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons is about a boy named Arnold who has his own apple tree. The tree is his friend. He watches the tree go through each season, and he explains what is happening to the tree during each season. We will use this book to help teach young readers about the four seasons.

This is a great book to read before taking children to a local apple orchard to pick their own apples.

Before reading the book ask the child to look at the cover of The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree. What do they see on the cover? Ask them what they think the book will be about. Tell them the title of the book and then say with humor, "So this book will be about silly dinosaurs?" Then ask him what they think the book will be about. Ask, "What are the four seasons?" Tell the child to pay close attention to the descriptions and the pictures of the apple tree in each season because they will be doing a project related to the book. Begin reading the book.



After reading the story, ask the child questions such as: What did the apple tree look like in the spring, winter, summer, and fall? What was Arnold’s favorite season? What was your favorite season? What other fruits grow on trees?

Explain to the child she is going to show the different ways an apple tree looks in different seasons. For young children click here to print a worksheet and have the child color it in.

For children who can draw and read make your own worksheet divided into four boxes. Write the name of a season at the top of each box. Ask the child to put their fingers on the word spring, then on the word summer, fall, and winter.

Click here for more apple printables including an apple dot to dot and word search which correspond nicely with the book.

Serve apples to eat the day you read the book. At breakfast you can serve apple pancakes or apple muffins. Serve apple sauce with lunch or pack it in their lunchbox. For snacks simply slice up an apple and let kids dip it in peanut butter. Kids love making baked apples. You can even make an apple crisp or an apple pie for dessert after dinner. Click here for our recipe for candy apples.

Stop by next Saturday for another Weekly Trip to the Library for nannies and au pairs.