heatherbermingham's review against another edition
5.0
This is a re-read, but I love, love, love, love, love this book. The illustrations are beautiful and the story is gentle but honest about the difficulties of starting over in a new country, especially when you come from a country (unnamed in the book) that stirs suspicion in many Americans. I read it with 6th graders in the past and it led to some really great discussions.
thebookishlibrarian's review against another edition
Farah feels alone in her new class in a new country with an unfamiliar language and culture. Today she is going on an apple picking field trip with her classmates and teacher. She listens but doesn’t speak, and through her observing, discovers that things are more similar to her home than she first realized. She sees a dog like her pet back home, and hears friendly laughter. This book tells the story of how a young Muslim immigrant finds her way in a new life.
kathens94's review against another edition
4.0
A young girl named Farah who has recently moved to the United States struggles to interact with her teachers and classmates because she does not speak English. She is also the only one in her class to wear a head covering, or dupatta. On her second day of school, she goes on a trip to an orchard with her class, where she learns that she can relate to her classmates through similarities like laughter and crunching on apples. She slowly begins to come out of her shell as she tries to speak with her classmates and make new friends on the field trip.
trgrant2310's review against another edition
4.0
Summary: This is a story about a young Muslim girl, Farah, that has just moved to America. She is struggling to try and fit in with her classmates on a field trip they take to an apple orchard. While picking apples, Farah is the only one that chooses a green apple to go with everyone else’s red apples. As the apples blend together to make juice this signifies Farah blending in with her peers. Towards the end of the field trip we see a shift in how Farah feels after having made a few new friends that day.
Evaluation: I like how this story depicts a culture that we don’t often see in children’s literature. I just wish there would have been more of it. The term dupatta is mentioned which describes the fabric that Farah must wear over her head and shoulders. Farah also makes the comment that in her home country boys and girls can’t sit together. She even mentions that her father has told her that her home country has had tensions with her new country before, and this means some people don’t like her. I think more research should have been put into this story to truly give the reader a better cultural understanding.
Teaching Idea: This would be a good story to teach students about friendship, and how to make new students feel more comfortable. Students can also learn some about the Muslim culture, and this book could be a good starting point. It is important to have cultural awareness, and to build a classroom that is accepting to all cultures. One Green Apple is a great story to build upon when teaching about a different culture. In my opinion, this book is appropriate for any elementary grade level.
Evaluation: I like how this story depicts a culture that we don’t often see in children’s literature. I just wish there would have been more of it. The term dupatta is mentioned which describes the fabric that Farah must wear over her head and shoulders. Farah also makes the comment that in her home country boys and girls can’t sit together. She even mentions that her father has told her that her home country has had tensions with her new country before, and this means some people don’t like her. I think more research should have been put into this story to truly give the reader a better cultural understanding.
Teaching Idea: This would be a good story to teach students about friendship, and how to make new students feel more comfortable. Students can also learn some about the Muslim culture, and this book could be a good starting point. It is important to have cultural awareness, and to build a classroom that is accepting to all cultures. One Green Apple is a great story to build upon when teaching about a different culture. In my opinion, this book is appropriate for any elementary grade level.
lara_lleverino's review against another edition
4.0
I remember similar feelings as an exchange student. Immersion is a hard but fast way to learn a new language.
dandelionfluff's review against another edition
2.0
I have very mixed feelings about this one, leaning towards a non-recommendation. Farah feels different, alone, like her peers and teacher believe she's stupid because she can't speak English well yet. Although the intention is to highlight how her differences will someday be accepted, the fact is she's being compared to a small, green, presumably sour fruit. I've seen another commenter point out that this will add complexity to the cider, but that the author doesn't make an effort to point this out, instead having the reader focus on how the teacher and other student have objections, stifled or not, to her placing her little green apple in the batch. This feels like a kind of guarded ostracism, emphasizing that Farah is not integrated, she is different, and in time she will "blend." It's not discussing how her differences and culture make her stronger, or make her class stronger; it's just saying that someday her differences will be erased or rendered unnoticeable because of her learning to be more American.
And, I understand that people who have been Othered may want to blend in, may want to understand the customs and cultures of the larger group they've come into, but we need to pull away from this idea of becoming Same and start celebrating the different viewpoints and traditions brought by someone from a different county/culture. I'm not sure this book accomplishes that.
And, I understand that people who have been Othered may want to blend in, may want to understand the customs and cultures of the larger group they've come into, but we need to pull away from this idea of becoming Same and start celebrating the different viewpoints and traditions brought by someone from a different county/culture. I'm not sure this book accomplishes that.
middle_name_joy's review against another edition
4.0
While some reviewers here say that this children's picture book doesn't do enough to counter the "otherness" of the main character, I say it's a story that is meant to include, not exclude. Many children feel ostracism at some point, whether they are moving across the world or within their country, or across town. At young ages, it is less about assimilation and more about making friends, which Farah, a Muslim immigrant, wants to do with her new classmates in the U.S.
I used this book over the past year when my class almost got a Muslim student from Yemen. Even in 5th grade, the students were engaged with Farah's plight to gain the new language and customs. It teaches tolerance and patience, and what it takes to meet people in the middle.
I used this book over the past year when my class almost got a Muslim student from Yemen. Even in 5th grade, the students were engaged with Farah's plight to gain the new language and customs. It teaches tolerance and patience, and what it takes to meet people in the middle.
engpunk77's review against another edition
3.0
If I were an elementary school teacher, I'd use this as a read-aloud if I were about to get a new student in the class who doesn't speak English or has recently moved here from another country. Given the refugee population in Utica, it's an important book for our elementary kids.