The most recommended books about apples

I’ve heard a saying whose source I can’t quite track down: “Few people can be convinced by reasoning, but many can be influenced by a good story.” Matt Bell’s Appleseed is precisely the kind of story that can influence our worldview. Blending mythology, science fiction, and apocalyptic thriller, this epic novel explores the complex relationship between nature and humanity.
The novel unfolds through three interconnected plotlines. The first is set in the 18th century, where two half-brothers plant apple trees across the uninhabited Ohio frontier. Inspired by early settlers, their ambition is to maximize the land’s productivity. The second plotline takes place in the near future, where a powerful corporation attempts to reverse global warming. To do so, it convinces the U.S. government to abandon the western half of the country, relocating citizens to the east and conscripting them into indentured servitude to farm modified plants and animals. The goal:… show more.

This simple story indirectly shows how even when things don’t go as planned, it can all turn out well in the end. It is told in a way that is funny and fun to read, using the same phrases over and over to help kids learn to read. They even chant along with me when I read it to them.

I have bought this book so many times because I must always have it in the house, and I keep giving away my copies. This is the hot chocolate of books. It goes down sweet and easy.

Two sisters, a strong-minded apple tree, a catering company that’s just a little bit magical… It’s a modern-day fairytale. And, like a fairytale, little lessons are hidden in its page that will help you re-see the wonder of the world. It might feel light and frothy, but it feeds the soul.

This sweet romance might be short in length, but it’s long on culinary delights and the idea that food can bring people together.

The book’s main appeal is the internal journeys of the food blogger heroine and chef hero, but I can’t lie—the mere mention of things like blueberry-and-basil scones has me rushing to my baking supplies to figure out my own version…and the scene involving butternut squash lasagna with browned butter, sage, and apples has my mouth watering every time.

In fact, I might need to take a break from this book rec to whip up a dupe.

This book of the historical workhouse days makes you think and value everything we have today. The tale is heartwrenching and portrays the struggles people faced all those years ago and the treatment they received if they ended up in the workhouse. At times this storyline made me cry, but no matter what the characters faced or what life threw at them, they still fought back and didn't give up. This is a descriptive storyline showing the clear divide between the rich and the poor and the way the sometimes cruel treatment of the poor. 

The descriptions of the workhouse personally made me value not only my family and those around me but everything that I own because historically, people didn't have anything really; in comparison, we are genuinely spoilt with everything we have today and the way our country has reformed, not to mention the assistance available which wasn't… show more.

How To Make an Apple Pie and See The World is a whimsical book that starts by asserting that making apple pie is the easiest thing in the world. All you do is get the ingredients at the market then mix, bake, and serve… But what if the market is closed? In that case, adventure ensues! One travels the world to procure the ingredients—Italy, France, Sri Lanka, England, Jamaica, Vermont—and then you mix, bake, and serve.

The last spread of this wonderful picturebook features a round table and a gathering of friends eating apple pie—is there anything better?

“The face that launched a thousand ships,” as Homer would say. Pollan’s witty and well-written treatment of how plants think and act to modulate their environments inspired 21st-century “critical plant studies” in the Anglophone world, including mine.

The book starts you thinking about the thousands of ways plants elbow into your world and how much they matter to your existence on earth, in economic but also spiritual senses. You end up agape in wonder.

I have kept track of my own dreams since the age of sixteen, writing them down each morning, and often illustrating them too. But Tina Tau has done far more. Her life has been, quite literally, guided by dreams.

Ask for Horses could be called a double memoir, a conversation between the worlds, visible and invisible. The writing is lucid and engaging, the plot (such as it is) both lively and unpredictable. Tina Tau herself emerges an unlikely heroine: generous, warmhearted, and intrepid. 

All kinds of God’s creatures sense the coming of fall as poetic language teaches young readers multiple animal and people truths. Kids will discover the joy of sensing the clues of nature and the signs that forecast changing seasons. It’s fun to guess which animal will be first to figure out the “mystery.”

The author uses ordinal numbers in a natural way, teaching first, second, third, etc., and teaching counting skills as well. I love the simple illustrations of animals acting the way each animal really acts. It’s a power-packed little book, weaving together a fall joy. And the more a parent reads the book, the more the child learns.

Lottie is a wise, steady chicken and Herbie is a silly, insecure duck, but their strong friendship is at the core of all the stories in this five-book series. Herbie is extremely jealous of Lottie’s new friend, Dodo. While Lottie is away, Dodo gets stuck on her roof, overcome with a fear of heights, and Herbie comes to her rescue. Herbie feels much better when Dodo says, “Now I know…why Lottie says you can always count on Herbie…and that you are ze apple of her eye.” Our whole family is very attached to the endearing personalities of Lottie and Herbie and the stained, worn pages of our copies show how frequently they have been read.