Bring Me Some Apples and I'll Make You a Pie

This book falls right on the line between fiction and nonfiction. It consists of little excerpts from the childhood of Edna Lewis, a girl who grew into one of the best chefs in the world. Each scene depicts Edna and her family picking fresh fruits and vegetables on the farm where Edna grew up. Each scene includes conversations that might have taken place between Edna and her family members and concludes with a song or a snippet of folklore or a short poem about the fruits and vegetables.

The story resonates with rhythm and the joy of country living and country cooking. The pictures are bright and busy. The author's note at the end tells of Edna's life and outlines the research the author did to write the book. There is a short list of Edna's cookbooks and, best of all, the author includes a few of Edna's recipes.

A bit from the book:

‘A warm breeze is blowing, and it's cherry-picking time. Everyone races to the trees and up the ladders to fill buckets and bellies with the ripe fruit.

Edna says, “A deep-dish cherry pie—that'll be the reward for all our hard work.”

Brother says: “Look at that bird in the cherry tree.
He's eating them one by one.
He's shaking his bill, he's getting his fill
as down his throat they run.”