The Year Goes Round: The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gail Gibbons

IT IS SPRING.

Arnold's apple tree is his secret place. It is warm and he sees that there are buds on all the twigs. And soon the buds open to reveal sweet-smelling apple blossoms. He picks a few branches to take home for a bouquet arrangement. Arnold puts up a swing on one of his tree's strongest branches and swings as high as the blossoms. And then...

IT IS SUMMER.

Arnold builds a tree house among the branches, partly hidden among the green leaves that grow thick under the warm sun. Some of the blossom begin to turn into small green apples which grow bigger every day. Arnold juggles some of them. And then their color begins to change. And all too soon...

IT IS FALL.

The hard green apples begin to turn red, and the green leaves turn golden and fall for Arnold to rake, and when he shakes the tree, ripe red apples drop all around him. Arnold collect the apples in baskets and takes them home, where he his parents make apple pies and cider in their cider press. Arnold decorates a few apples for Halloween. And finally...

IT IS WINTER.

The apple tree's branches are bare again, so Arnold makes popcorn strings to decorate it and to feed the birds. When it snows, he builds a snowman under the tree and a snow fort to surround his tree. But one day the snow begins to melt and soon...

IT'S SPRING AGAIN.

Arnold's own apple tree is a literary evergreen, taking youngsters through a study of the seasons for decades, in Gail Gibbons' classic, The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). Highly reviewed and enduring, this study of a year in the person of one child and one tree is perfect for preschool and primary students just beginning their study of science as evidenced in the science of the annual cycle of the seasons, illustrated by the author in charming illustrations and a sturdy boy who grows through the year as well. Embedded in the story are a recipe for apple pie and a diagram of how a cider press works. Share this one with Gibbons' companion book, Apples.