Ten Red Apples [Hardcover]

Pat Hutchins (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: April 5, 2000 | Age Range: 4 - 8 years | Lexile Measure: 290L (What's this?)

Ten red apples hanging on a tree. Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee! But they are not there for long. Horse, cow, donkey, pig, hen, and the other farm animals each eat one. "Save one for me," calls the farmer. But what about the farmer's wife?

Count on Pat Hutchins to solve the problem happily. And count the red apples before they are all gone!

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bold colors dominate Hutchins's (Titch) gouache paintings, framed in fire-engine red and featuring characters depicted as hinged wooden people and animals. The rhyming, sing-song text counts down from 10 as a succession of farm animals consume apples from a tree, beginning with a horse: "Ten red apples hanging on the tree./ Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!/ Horse came and ate one,/ chomp, chomp, chomp./ Neigh, neigh, fiddle-dee-fee./ 'Horse!' cried the farmer./ 'Save some for me!' " For each verse, an animal takes its fruit, then moves to the right side of the spread, creating a cumulative visual effect. After the ninth animal helps itself to the tree's bounty, a sole apple remains for the farmer, but none for his wife, who hopes to bake a pie. In the closing spreads, the farmer spies another tree bearing 10 apples, setting youngsters up to start all over again. Hutchins's repetitive narrative, with its long vowel sounds coupled with crayon-bright toy characters, will invite audience participation and boost beginning readers' self-confidence. Ages 3-up.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A concept book that blends rhyming, counting, repetition, and animal sounds into a charming, folksy story. Hutchins's trademark wooden figures-including the farming couple from Changes, Changes (Macmillan, 1971)-populate this delightful tale in which a farmer watches his animals eat bright red apples from the tree. "'Horse!' cried the farmer. 'Save some for me!'" When there is just one apple left, he picks it ("Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!"). Then along comes his wife, who finds "No red apples to bake in a pie. Fie, fie, fiddle-dee-fee!" The farmer saves the day when he finds another tree and they fill the basket with "More red apples hanging on a tree." The bouncy singsong text begs to be read aloud. The rhyme is easy and smooth, with a catchy refrain. An added surprise is the appearance of Rosie the hen from Rosie's Walk (Macmillan, 1968). The gouache paintings are bright and clear, and the palette includes many colors beyond the primary tones of red, blue, and yellow. There is a cheery border at the top and bottom of each page. The endpapers show the happy couple counting apples from 1 to 10 and back again. A delicious selection from a master of simplicity.
Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 - 8 years
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books (April 5, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688167977
• ISBN-13: 978-0688167974
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 0.4 x 10 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #251,580 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Ten Red Apples January 25, 2006

By Maria Mahat

Format:Hardcover

Ten red apples hanging on a tree

Yippee, fiddle-dee-fee!

Horse came and ate one,

chomp, chomp, chomp.

Neigh, neigh, fiddle-dee-fee

"Horse!" cried the farmer.

"Save some for me!"

Languagewise, this is a lively, rhyming book and as you can see, those were the only basic words used throughout the story except of course, each page would have a different number and animal that came to eat the apple. Definitely great for your baby and toddlers especially if you read it in a sing song fashion. Not only the young child will learn about the numbers, but also the animal names and the sounds of the animals. And since some of the words are repeated page by page until there's no apple left, this book is great for shared reading between you and your child. As your child goes into kindergarten, it is time to whip up the book again and learn subtraction!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for learning and interacting! September 20, 2009

By jersey mom

Format:Hardcover

I use this book in my pre-kindergarten. The children love to hear the animal sounds and they are anxiously awaiting their part at the end of each page "Save some for me". The love being able to interact with the book. The story is very repetitive so it's easy to keep the children's attention.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK! September 17, 2001

By Stephanie Behan

Format:Hardcover

Great counting book for younger children ages 3-6. Apples are counted one by one and illustrations are good in that they are step by step and easy to understand for a young child.