Welcome to The Apple Tree, a picture book written by Steven Moe with illustrations by Cricket McCormick and a song composed by Matthew Goldsworthy. A video of the book being read with the music being played, is below.
As the seasons pass, an apple tree grows and wonders why it has been left alone with no purpose. This story is a reflection on the nature of things we can’t perceive, and the impact we can have on the world beyond our own imagination.
Please also visit this interactive site where you can leave a story about “who has been the Apple Tree in your life?” and listen to the music composed by Matthew Goldsworthy.
Each book is $20, or contact for bulk purchase options. Ways you can order:
- email Steven at steven@theseeds.nz
- they are at Telling Tales bookstore (online at link, or instore in Christchurch)
- order online for overseas delivery from Lulu here.
Chinese Language version of the story.
Endorsements
Tell your Apple Tree story
The Apple Tree in this book is an inspiring character who has a great impact on the world, but doesn’t always see the results or know how big an effect they have.
On this interactive webpage, you can tell a short story about someone who is an “apple tree” in your life, or read stories others have written.
My grandfather’s apple tree
There are a number of influences that shaped the story. One of them is that my Grandfather planted this Apple Tree back in the late 1940s, in a sunny meadow full of wild sweet peas and birds swooping in among its branches, right near a small stream that I lived by for a time when I was a child. It is near a place called Twain Harte in California. My Uncle lives there now and says that it is still producing apples today.
I wonder how far and wide its apples have spread, and how many people have tasted them? I certainly remember my Grandmother’s apple pies, mixed in with the wild blackberries that grew in the valley as well that we picked on hot summer days.
There are some themes, some subjects, too large for adult fiction; they can only be dealt with adequately in a children’s book.
– Phillip Pullman
