cover image Who Stole the Apples?

Who Stole the Apples?

Heuck Sigrid, Sigrid Heuck. Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers, $8.95 (28pp) ISBN 978-0-394-88371-7

This is the best kind of rebus tale, as illustrations and words blend for effortless reading. A horse loves the autumnthat's when the apple tree empties its branches of fruit, and he can eat until he's full. One day, the branches are mysteriously stripped, and there are no apples on the ground. Who took them? What transpires is a journey with a bear across the ocean in search of the ""something'' that flew over the meadow with the apples. Some crows are caught with the fruit, but by the time the horse and bear pay back all those who have helped them (this is also a counting book), they have but two apples left. With promises to eat their fill next year, the traveling companions part. The rebus pictures are brightly folkloric, with appealing scenes to complement the action. (3-6)