One Green Apple

The children’s book One Green Apple by Eve Bunting is about a young Islamic girl named Farah who has just moved to the United States.  The story is centered on Farah going on a field trip with her class to an apple orchard, but it is only Farah’s second day at her new school.  Farah doesn’t speak English so it is hard to communicate with her teacher and classmates.  Farah also does not know her classmates yet, so she shares throughout the story how she wishes she were back home and her frustration that people don’t understand her.  But as the story goes on the field trip becomes a way for Farah to get to know her classmates.  Although they may not be able to communicate, she learns some of their names they do activities together, and make each other laugh.  Farah realizes that although her home country is different than America some things are very similar.  This leads Farah to say her first word outside of herself at school, the word apple which she pronounces “app-ell”.  Her classmates are so happy to hear her say the word and it makes Farah feel like she’s starting to belong. 

 Bunting, E., & Lewin, T. (2006). One green apple. New York: Clarion Books.