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Summary
Summary
The slightly true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains.
Apples, ho!
When Papa decides to pull up roots and move from Iowa to Oregon, he can't bear to leave his precious apple trees behind. Or his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears. Oh, and he takes his family along too.
But the trail is cruel. First there's a river to cross that's wider than Texas, then there are hailstones as big as plums, and then there's even a drought, sure to crisp the cherries.
Luckily Delicious (the nonedible apple of Daddy's eye) won't let anything stop her father's darling saps from tasting the sweet Oregon soil. A hilarious tall tale from the team that brought you Fannie in the Kitchen that's loosely based on the life of a real fruiting pioneer.
Author Notes
Deborah Hopkinson is the author of numerous award-winning children's books, including Sweet Clara and the Freedom Quilt , winner of the International Literacy Association Award; Girl Wonder , winner of the Great Lakes Book Award; and Apples to Oregon , a Junior Library Guild Selection. She received the 2003 Washington State Book Award for Under the Quilt of Night. She lives in Oregon. Visit her online at DeborahHopkinson.com.
Nancy Carpenter is the acclaimed illustrator of Thomas Jefferson and the Mammoth Hunt , Queen Victoria's Bathing Machine , Fannie in the Kitchen , and Loud Emily , among other books. Her works have garnered many honors, including two Christopher Awards and the Jane Addams Children's Book Award. She lives in Brooklyn, New York. Visit her at NancyCarpenter.website.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
The creators of Fannie in the Kitchen present another satisfying slice of Americana in this capricious caper, loosely based on a true story. "My daddy loved growin' apples. And when he got ready to pull up roots and leave Iowa for Oregon, he couldn't bear to leave his apple trees behind," states the vivacious young narrator, with the fitting name of Delicious. Her father builds two large wooden boxes, fills them with "good, wormy dirt" and fruit trees, and loads them onto a wagon. "Oh, and by the way, he took us along too," she adds. As the girl's colloquial account follows the family of 10 across country, Carpenter's oil paintings provide effervescent particulars, such as Daddy bowed out at the front of the wagon, leading the team of oxen, while Delicious, addressing the audience full-on, nearly misses her ride West. Carpenter's brushstrokes, both delicate and broad, plus her rubbery characters add up to a more rugged style than her fine line renderings in Fannie, yet the artwork conveys just as much humor. Youngsters will revel in the fact that it is only through the efforts of inventive and indefatigable Delicious that the precious cargo survives its journey-through hail, drought and frost-to Oregon, where father and daughter plant a successful orchard. Daddy has the delectable last word: "Delicious, you'll always be the apple of my eye." This tallish tale is sweet to the core. Ages 4-8. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Dogged dad focuses on precious nursery stock, overlooking his own neglected children; nevertheless, they help get his trees though various emergencies en route from Iowa to Oregon. This deliberately exaggerated rendition of a true event falls between stools, its implausibilities stretching credibility without achieving tall tale humor. Still, both art and narration are perky enough to spark interest in the real story. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
K-Gr. 3. The pair that created Fannie in the Kitchen 0 (2001) offers another food-related picture book for youngsters. When Papa decides to move from Iowa to Oregon his biggest concern is not his family but his apples--and his peaches, plums, grapes, cherries, and pears! He constructs a dirt-filled wagon to transport his fruit saplings, while his family travels in a smaller cart. Along the way, they encounter the requisite Oregon Trail hardships, but luckily daughter Delicious is clever enough to help her family (and Papa's precious darlings) arrive safely at their new home. Based loosely on the life of Henderson Luelling, who founded Oregon's first nursery in 1847, Hopkinson's alliterative tall tale is rich in language that begs to be read out loud ("'Guard the grapes! Protect the peaches!' Daddy howled"), and Carpenter's colorful oil paintings add to the exaggerated fun. Some apple facts and a historical note are appended. --Kay Weisman Copyright 2004 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 4-In this original tall tale, Delicious describes her family's journey from Iowa to Oregon in the 1800s. Daddy loves the idea of going west but he can't bear to leave his apple trees behind. He constructs two special wagons, fills them with "good, wormy dirt," and packs in hundreds of plants and trees. "Apples, ho!" he cries, and off they go. When they reach the Platte River-"wider than Texas, thicker than Momma's muskrat stew"-Delicious helps her father build a raft to ferry the seedlings-and the family-across. Everyone makes it to the other side, just barely. Before long, a hailstorm hits, scattering bonnets, petticoats, and even Daddy's drawers. Other larger-than-life challenges await the family, but inventive Delicious always manages to save the day. Soon, they're all floating down "the mighty Columbia." They plant those trees in Oregon soil, and everyone lives happily ever after. An author's note explains that this story is based loosely on Henderson Luelling, a pioneer who really did transport plants and fruit trees to Oregon in 1847. Hopkinson's version, of course, is just pure fun and make-believe. Carpenter's oil paintings are filled with vivid shades that reflect the changing scenery. Amusing details abound, and the slightly exaggerated humor of the pictures is in perfect balance with the tone of the text. The plucky heroine-wearing a bright red dress, white pinafore, and confident smile-often takes center stage. An entertaining choice for storytimes or an amusing supplement to units on westward expansion.-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
The subtitle ("Being the [Slightly] True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries [and Children] Across the Plains") sets the tone and describes the plot, but the flavor is in the folksy telling of this clever tall tale that humorously portrays a family's trek west from Iowa to Oregon to plant their father's fruit trees. His oldest daughter, Delicious, regales readers with her accounts of the many hazards and risks the family faces (eight children and mama) as they rescue Daddy's darlings, the young trees, from drowning in a river crossing, being pounded by hailstones, withering by drought, and then freezing by Jack Frost. Carpenter's illustrations paint hilarious touches, such as the scene where they use their clothing to protect the plants from hail, including Daddy's underwear. Endpaper maps trace their journey and the author's note states that the story is loosely based on a real pioneer, Henderson Luelling. The pun-filled text and puckish pictures by the team that created Fannie in the Kitchen (2001) spin a pip of a yarn that is just downright delicious. (Picture book. 4-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
