Module 6: Apples to Oregon

Book Summary: Told from the perspective of a young girl named Delicious, a family leaves Iowa for Oregon. However, the girl's daddy decides to take a wagon's worth of plants and trees. An adventure ensues westward with the large wagon of apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries. The much smaller wagon in the back holds the family. Daddy sings lullabies to his plants and trees at night, he loves them that much. Crossing rivers, storms, drought all make the trek that much harder. Before the frost hits, the family makes it to Oregon in time to plant the trees just outside Portland. 

APA Reference of Book:

Hopkinson, D. (2003). Apples to Oregon: being the (slightly) true narrative of how a brave pioneer father brought apples, peaches, pears, plums, grapes, and cherries (and children) across the plains. New York, NY: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Impressions: The illustrations in this story provide much of the humor and impression of a tall tale. The large family squishes into a tiny wagon behind the much larger wagon holding the plants and trees. Towards the end, the little girl narrating the story, shoos away Jack Frost from the plants. The family leaves no hardship untouched through all the different kinds of weather. When a hail storm hits, the family takes off their clothes to protect the plants with everyone remaining in their underwear. The author's note explains that this story is a fictionalized account of the Luelling family and their traveling nursery to Oregon. The family established a nursery, with a friend, in the town of Milwaukie (south of Portland) that exists to this day. While this story may be a tall tale, it is a lively story explaining the surprising origins of fruit trees and plants in Oregon, which make up the majority of the state's economy.

Professional Review: "The subtitle (“Being the [Slightly] True Narrative of How a Brave Pioneer Father Brought Apples, Peaches, Pears, Plums, Grapes, and Cherries [and Children] Across the Plains”) sets the tone and describes the plot, but the flavor is in the folksy telling of this clever tall tale that humorously portrays a family’s trek west from Iowa to Oregon to plant their father’s fruit trees. His oldest daughter, Delicious, regales readers with her accounts of the many hazards and risks the family faces (eight children and mama) as they rescue Daddy’s darlings, the young trees, from drowning in a river crossing, being pounded by hailstones, withering by drought, and then freezing by Jack Frost. Carpenter’s illustrations paint hilarious touches, such as the scene where they use their clothing to protect the plants from hail, including Daddy’s underwear. Endpaper maps trace their journey and the author’s note states that the story is loosely based on a real pioneer, Henderson Luelling. The pun-filled text and puckish pictures by the team that created Fannie in the Kitchen (2001) spin a pip of a yarn that is just downright delicious" (Kirkus, 2004, https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/deborah-hopkinson/apples-to-oregon/).

Kirkus Reviews. (2004, August 15). [Review of the book Apples to Oregon, by D. Hopkinson] Retrieved from https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/deborah-hopkinson/apples-to-oregon/

Library Uses: I would recommend this title for the homeschool families that come into the library.  Oftentimes, many of them have a portion of curriculum devoted to agriculture or studies about plants. This historical fiction tale could act as an introduction to how fruit trees and plants made their way to Oregon. Homeschool students could debunk some of the myths presented in the story with research.