Category: Children Publisher: Vantage Press
ISBN-10: 0533131618
Type: Fiction
Pages: 27
Copyright: Aug 11 1995
This is a nostalgic children's book about mother and daughter getting together for an all-day canning job. This illustrated story shows them working together to make a perfect batch of applesauce. The little girl carefully explains her experiences step by step, as she joins in this grown-up activity.
Getting food out of a jar is no big puzzle, but how it got there in the first place, all delicious and ready to eat, can be a bit of a mystery. This is a story that shares all of
the excitement felt by a little girl when it is time for canning, as she tells how it feels
to join in this grown-up activity. She carefully explains this experience step by step. The bright and busy kitchen of the author's childhood and one balmy autumn day in
particular come to life again in this charming and instructive story.
Readers will feel
certain that young Marilyn and her mother will be blue-ribbon contenders.
Excerpt
Momma and I worked hard to produce twenty-four quarts of applesauce. It was an all-day job that left us very tired by nightfall. We wore heavy smocks and brightly colored
kerchiefs to keep the applesauce from flying all over us and our better clothes. We wore gym shoes that kept us from skidding on the floor. Canning was very creative work. We loved to do it.
The day before we started, Momma and I picked ripe, red, juicy apples off the trees at the Catholic monastery. Some perfect apples had also fallen on the ground. They had good firm skins without soft spots, and no bugs had dug through. We put them all in a large pan. Momma asked permission from the nuns to use the apples.
"There's no sense in wasting all these apples," Momma said. "The poor people would be glad to have them."
The night before, I laid out necessary supplies for the job. There was an aluminum colander, a plastic measuring cup, a canning funnel, a large strainer, a large pan, and an oven mitt.
"Tie your apron on, please," Momma ordered.
From the kitchen drawer, I got a jarlifter, food tongs, a jar wrench, a vegetable peeler, a long wooden spoon, and a paring knife. I sat a large cooker-canner on the stove. I took a "How-to" canning book from the bookrack and laid it beside the other things. Momma and I were ready for a big day's work.
September was a month for preserving apples. The trees outside were turning golden. Leaves blew gently by the window. Other trees were changing to luscious oranges, and rich purples. Flaming red bushes outside matched our red apples on the sink. It was harvest time.
My 8 year old read this to my 6 year old and I and we loved it. It brought about a great discussion on how families long ago had to can their own food from their gardens for the winter months.
Your writing reflected great potential. It added more to the idea of mother and daughter spending time together and accomplishing something wonderful and sweet! I think that's one of the best ideas in life to act upon. Thank you for sharing!
In my own writing, I've experience that I can be TOO descriptive very easily. I worry about that since my work tends be very visual and active with a novel like Shut Up. Of course, there are 296 pages in the fold-over two-way story of Shut Up, so there is a lot going on.
I can't help but feel that with all of the sensory signals that you attach with Applesauce that you have edited yourself too far. Yet, the piece does come off extremely well at its own charged pace.
I say charged only because the nearly thirty sentences in this paragraph, could easily be translated into nine highly descriptive paragraphs of five to seven sentences. That might make the piece EVEN more reader friendly. Though I truly enjoyed the feel and the flavor. Thank you.
I like the "homespun" flavor of your applesauce in jars story. Simple, easy reading. I'm wondering about the story's setting? Changing seasons. Fall coming on. I'll bet if you really dug deep, and let go, you would have some real heartfelt stories to tell, deep in emotions and filled with love. Try it! You owe it to a mother you obviously love very deeply.
Edie Batstone's first book of colourful picture poems invites us to jump into a child's world of wonder and possibility, just as a child jumps into a puddle - knowing only that it seems like a good idea at the time! Join her on this journey of disco
Alisha is shocked when she learns her seizures can send her back through time. With the meddling of Selene, Goddess of the Moon, and Iris, Messenger Goddess, she finds herself transported to ancient Sparta, where Helen is desperately trying to escape
