Autumn Is for Apples

by Michelle Knudsen, Denise & Fernando (Illustrator)

Apples are my favorite snack–
all juicy, red, and round.
I love how every tasty bite
comes with a crunchy sound.

Sparse rhyming text details a child’s impressions of a trip to go apple-picking, from the morning flapjacks to the last juicy bite of apple.

Genres: Picture Books, Food, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published July 24, 2001

About the author

Michelle Knudsen is a New York Times best-selling author of more than 50 books for young readers and a writer of speculative short fiction for adults. Her titles include the award-winning picture book Library Lion (Time magazine's 100 Best Children's Books of All Time) and the novels The Dragon of Trelian (VOYA Top Shelf Fiction for Middle School Readers) and Evil Librarian (YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults; Sid Fleischman Humor Award). Her most recent books are the YA webcomic novelization Cursed Princess Club: A Most Unusual Princess and the middle grade novel Into the Wild Magic, which is a finalist for the 2025 Andre Norton Nebula Award(!). A lifelong musical theater lover, Michelle is thrilled that two of her books (Library Lion and Evil Librarian) have now been made into musicals! Visit her website for more information and upcoming performance dates. Michelle lives in Brooklyn, New York. Find her on Instagram @michelle.knudsen, Bluesky @michelleknudsen.bsky.social, or at michelleknudsen.com.

Reviews

[Mama Bearian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A family goes to an apple orchard to pick apples for the day and then drives back home. It isn't a novel concept, and you can find almost this exact same "story" in multiple apple-themed books. Of those books, though, I think this one was my favorite. The text is short and rhyming, which helps hold the attention of the little ones who are the target audience for this book.

[Christiana Freeman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a journey of a person who is experiencing a day in nature, in the Fall season. The rhyming worked well and the bright colors are appealing. Great book to incorporate a cooking activity: apple pie.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good read about fall and harvesting apples.

[Romina]

Autumn is for apples—
and apples are for me!"

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was absolutely wonderful, from the topic all the way down to the rhythm and rhyme scheme. It was a wonderful read and I look forward to featuring it in my future story times!

[Ash · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too dry

[Heidi-Marie · Rating 3 out of 5]

The rhyming worked well in this. The story made me want to go pick apples, and wish that I could remember more about the time my (Kindergarten? 1st grade?) class went to an apple orchard. It's not what I'm looking for in my fall storytime, but it works in a lap-read. I can put this on display.

[Children's Department · Rating 5 out of 5]

cute rhyming book about apples and harvest