Today is a special day.
Yes, it is Perfect Picture Book Friday, which is always special 🙂
But today is also my Brown Dog’s birthday!
Here she is when she was tiny:
And here she is now that she is 10!
She is the best Brown Brownie in the whole wide world – my loyal, devoted friend who has stayed by my side during some of the toughest times I’ve been through, warm and comforting and kind. I feel so lucky to have her. So we will celebrate her 10th birthday tonight with a party, complete with yellow cake with vanilla icing so she can have some 🙂 Happy Birthday, my faithful, loving friend!
I guess I should have chosen a Perfect Picture Book for today that was about birthdays or dogs or cake… I chose one about pie… that has a dog in it… (I mean the story has a dog in it, not the pie! 🙂 ) and ends with a party 🙂
Title: An Apple Pie For Dinner
Retold By: Susan VanHecke
Illustrated By: Carol Baicker-McKee
Two Lions (Amazon Children’s Publishing), August 2009, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 5-8
Themes/Topics: resourcefulness, kindness, persistence, folktale retelling
Opening: “One day, Old Granny Smith wanted an apple pie for dinner.
She looked around her cozy kitchen.
She had flour and butter.
She had sugar and spices.
But there was one thing she didn’t have.”
Brief Synopsis: Granny Smith wants to bake an apple pie, but she doesn’t have any apples. So she fills her basket with plums and sets out to see if she can trade. She swaps plums for feathers, feathers for flowers, flowers for a gold coin… but will she ever find her apples?
Links To Resources: Apple pie recipe at the back of the book; author notes about the retelling and illustrator notes about how the three-dimensional mixed media art was created are also included at the back of the book; An Apple Pie For Dinner dedicated website with related activities
Why I Like This Book: This story has such a cozy, friendly feel. Granny is so sweet. She goes along, patiently hoping to find apples for her pie, doing good for everyone she meets and making their days better even though time after time she fails to get the apples she needs. The story is cheerful and comes full circle to delicious ending 🙂 The mixed-media illustrations are delightful in their 3-D, stand-out-from-the-page, sunny, colorfulness. An all-around satisfying read complete with an apple pie recipe to try at home!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 🙂
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 🙂
Susanna Leonard Hill 
Happy birthday, Brownie!
Happy birthday Brownie! You must be well loved!
What a cute book. Adding it to my list.
Woof! Happy birthday Brownie!
Awwww. How adorable! Thanks for the book review. I heard this illustrator speak at an SCBWI conference nearly . . . was it? . . . 20 years ago? Anyway, she was fantastic. Can’t wait to see her latest work. Thanks.
Happy birthday to Brownie!
I love pie for breakfast, especially apple pie, & I think this picture book looks yummy. Thanks for sharing!
Happy Birthday Brownie. Great dog to jog with when you have bears wandering nearby. Almost ran a review about a dog book today.
Enjoyed your review of Granny Smith and her apples. Sounds fun. Enjoyed the illustrations!
Susanna, what a gorgeous dog. This book looks like a lot of fun. I love the mixed media and what looks like clay images. I can’t wait to get a hold of this book. 🙂
Thanks for the smile, Susanna😊 The holidays pull me away and this week it’s been a struggle getting re-focused. Not anymore!
It’s always delightful (did I say delightful? Yes I did.) and inspiring to read your blog. Just had to share.
Give beautiful Brownie a big birthday bear hug for me, please🐕
Love your dog Brownie and sounds like he had a great birthday. Your chosen book for PPBF is gorgeous and I loved the illustrations.
She is gorgeous!! What a beautiful dog!
Love the illustration style for this book…and of course, who can resist apple pie?
Happy Birthday, Brown Dog! xo
Gosh, I love that mixed media work.
Happy Birthday, Brownie! Sounds like a great gripping, pb.
Beautiful story, Susanna…and a beautiful doggie also. 🙂
Hoping to get a story up before the end of the night…but n promises.
My little inperson critique group met today and Carmen brought her Holiday Writing contest prize…Writing Picture Books…to show the group…we all love you, Susanna!
Happy birthday Brownie! This sounds like a lovely book, Susanna. 🙂
Well a big Happy Birthday to Brownie, that’s one cool dog! As for Apple Pie for Dinner, that’s one cool idea. I know my daughter thinks so, there is nothing like her Grandma’s apple pie, which she would eat for breakfast, lunch, or dinner! The 3-D graphics in this book look awesome, hopefully you don’t need the glasses lol.
Yay! I hope Brownie had a nice birthday! 🙂 Great PPB! 😀
Hope you enjoyed the birthday! The book about pie sounds like something I have to check out! Thanks for sharing.