All things fall!

Dappled Apples

Written by Jan Carr

Illustrated by Dorothy Donohue

Scholastic Inc., 2001

22 Pages

Fiction

          I chose this book because I love fall and the paper collage illustration that fill the pages of this book! Dappled Apples describes the images of children’s favorite memories of fall, the leaves changing colors and falling to the ground, picking apples, going to the pumpkin patch, carving pumpkins and trick or treating! Who doesn’t think of these things when thinking of fall! All that is missing is the image of a bonfire and Thanksgiving dinner with family! 

Donohue layers and crumpled handmade cut paper to create the collage artwork for this book. The use of this style makes the illustrations seem to jump off the page at the reader. It creates the lifelike texture of leaves on the ground, a scarecrows rope necktie, and children’s Halloween costumes. The illustrations are two full pages of vibrant fall scenes. 

This book would be great for a Science lesson about the leaves changing, apple orchards or pumpkins for elementary school children. This book could be used for a Language Arts lesson by having students write a story or poem about their favorite things about fall. Art could be incorporated by having students create a fall scene using the collage technique.This book did not receive any awards.