A Shiny Red Apple

A Shiny Red Apple is one in Patricia Karwatowicz’s series, "God is in the little things." The series is illustrated by Jane Dippold. Each page features delightful pictures in soft colors. Characters of different ethnicities are featured, including Asian, African-American and Caucasian.

In this book, Noah James really wants an apple. He works hard to get it, but doesn’t succeed. As he thinks of more ways to reach it, the apple drops from the tree. He decides God must have given it to him. Just as Noah is about to take a bite, he stops. “If God can give me nice gifts, I can give a nice gift to someone else.” The gift goes from person to person, all of who are delighted, until it returns to Noah in a special pie made by his grandmother. The story ends with 2 Corinthians 9:7b: “The Lord loves a cheerful giver.”

A “Faith Parenting Guide” is included at the end of the book. There parents are given three different activities to do with their children to encourage generosity. These activities reinforce the story by using the senses of sight, sound and touch.

What I Like: This is a sweet story! It does a beautiful job teaching that because we have received much, we can be generous with what we have. It is easy to read and fun to think of how gifts can return to us. I also like that each recipient of the apple saw something different in the gift: one knew it meant someone thought she was special; another laughed and shared it to make someone else laugh. Everyone views gifts differently, something cool to remember when giving gifts.

What I Dislike: The illustrations were cute, but nothing special. They lack detail. I would like to see brighter colors. Also, the parenting guide was a little lame; the activities seemed redundant.

Overall Rating: Good.

Age Appeal: 4-7, though my 22-month-old son likes it, too!

Publisher Info: Faith Kidz, 2005; ISBN: 07814411445; Paperback; $9.99

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