One Green Apple ~ Written by Eve Bunting, Illustrated by Ted Lewin

I've been reading a lot of picture books by Eve Bunting in the past couple of days and I plan on reading loads more. Bunting's stories are timeless. The stories Bunting sets down to paper are the kind that children enjoy listening to at the knees of parents and grandparents, and they are the kind of stories that, now as parents and grandparents, they are likely to pass on to children and grandchildren of their own.

What is it that makes Bunting's stories so appealing? Bunting is one of the few authors who is capable of  tapping into current-day events, making her stories relatable not only to today's readers, but also addressing some of the issues and obstacles that play a timeless role in the growing-up process.

In One Green Apple, published in 2006, Bunting takes readers on a class field-trip to an apple orchard, showing us the orchard through the eyes of a young immigrant Muslim girl. In our post-911 world, it is important for kids to see that the majority of Muslims share the same fears and concerns as they do (e.g. that they also worry about fitting in, maintaining friendships, and getting good marks in school) and that they are far from terrorists. Likewise, it is also important for writers to show how some youngsters, like Farah in our story, additionally struggle with differential tasks such as learning English and adjusting to North American cultural norms. This is an excellent book to address both of these issues.