Thompson, Lauren. The Apple Pie That Papa Baked. Illustrated by Jonathan Bean. Simon & Schuster, 2007.

This story poem begins, “This is the pie, warm and sweet, that Papa baked.” With a rhythm and pattern similar to “this is the house that Jack built”, the story goes on to tell where the apples that make the pie originated: on the tree, in the earth, fed by rain, from the clouds, in the sky, etc. And it all comes back to a pie made by Papa with love for a little girl to share with friends.

Jonathan Bean has written and illustrated several outstanding picture books, including This Is My Home, This Is My School and Building our House, which are both about the daily life of a homeschooling family. But according to the illustrator blurb, The Apple Pie That Papa Baked was Mr. Bean’s first book. He says his illustrations in Apple Pie “were strongly influenced by the work of Virginia Lee Burton and Wanda Gag, as well as the small family orchard where he picked peaches, pears, and, of course, apples.” The influences were good, and the three-color pictures–red, yellow, and black– in this cumulative poem book are lively and engaging. The style is different from Jonathan Bean’s other books that I have read, but it fits well with this folk tale, nursery rhyme story.

I am excited to add this book to the new edition of Picture Book Preschool that I am working on. It makes a great read aloud, and children can spend a long time just looking at the pictures to find all the details of farm and family and pie.