Apple Cake: A Recipe for Love
Written and Illustrated by Julie Paschikis
Alfonso captures bookworm Ida’s heart over an apple cake made with love, and the illustrations show just how far Alfonso is willing to go to demonstrate his deep love for Ida. This simple book by Julie Paschikis weaves a love story through a recipe and whimsical illustrations. Apple Cake is an easy read aloud book, but the illustrations are truly what make this book a treat to read. If one simply hears the words, one hears a simple recipe and instructions for making a cake, but to truly appreciate the book, one must study the artwork. This would be an interesting book to have a second grade class read around Valentine’s day and respond through various writing and math assignments.
The text is simple, so no second grade student should have any comprehension problems with the text, but to check comprehension, students may be encouraged to retell the story, making sure to include details from the text and illustrations. Several quick journal prompts to use in response to this book: How would you feel if someone did something for you like Alfonso did for Ida? For whom would you bake a special cake? Why? What do you think happened next with Alfonso and Ida?
Since this book does include a recipe, students should have a class cooking project, which is an easy way to connect math and literacy. The recipe that Alfonso used to make Ida’s cake is printed on the inside cover of the book, but for more recipe ideas that are kid friendly, check out http://www.schoolfamily.com/recipes/category/recipes-kids-can-make-alone.
Title: Apple Cake: A Recipe for Love- Author/Illustrator: Julie Paschikis
- Publisher: Harcourt
- Reviewer: Sharon Schulte
- Hardback, 32 pages
- ISBN: 978-0-547-80745-4
- Genre: fiction, love, recipes
