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List Price: $19.95 | | Publisher: Callaway
Salesrank: 17347
Released: November 10, 2003 |
| Our Price: $2.50 |
| Used Price: $1.90 |
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| Media: Hardcover |
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Editorial Review:
"Mr. Peabodyís Apples takes place in 1949 in Happville, USA. Mr. Peabody is the beloved elementary school teacher and baseball coach, who one day finds himself ostracized when rumors spread through the small town. Mr. Peabody silences the gossip with an unforgettable and poignant lesson about how we must choose our words carefully to avoid causing harm to others.
Madonna dedicates Mr. Peabody's Apples to teachers everywhere."
Description of Mr. Peabody's Apples:
With Mr. Peabody's Apples, her gorgeous sophomore venture into the realm of children's literature, Madonna sustains her transformation from material girl to mom. Inspired by a 300-year-old Ukrainian story and illustrated by the talented Loren Long, Madonna's tale is about the dangers of gossip. As a frequent target of the rumor mill, who better to teach the young ones about the "power of words" and their potential to cause "harm to others" than the newly reformed diva?
Set in a tiny American town, Madonna's story features the big-hearted and much beloved Mr. Peabody, an elementary school teacher and Little League coach who dedicates his summer Saturdays to the local losing team. The kindly teacher seems to savor life the way he savors his weekly apple--taking pleasure in the little things. One weekend after the game, Tommy Tittlebottom watches Mr. Peabody take his apple without paying for it. The following weekend Tommy calls in reinforcements to witness Mr. Peabody's transgression. By the next Saturday, Mr. Peabody's apparent theft has become grist for the Happville rumor mill and no one comes to Little League practice. These moments truly highlight Long's talents as an illustrator--the handsome Mr. Peabody (part Harry Connick Jr., part Robert Redford) comes to life on the page, his disappointment as palpable as that of Billy Little, the young boy who idolizes him. A simple explanation puts the rumors to rest, but as Mr. Peabody points out in a poignant demonstration, small talk can often lead to big trouble for everyone.
In a wonderful departure from her debut children's book The English Roses, Madonna has created a tribute to 1940's small-town America that delivers a fundamental message about respecting others. Children will love Mr. Peabody and parents will appreciate the gentle nudge with which he delivers his message. Mr. Peabody's Apples unfolds slowly, but readers young and old will want to linger over each illustrated page lovingly rendered in a muted pallet of rich color. --Daphne Durham
Mr. Peabody's Apples Reviews:
Rotten Apple 
2008-05-11 - Mr. Peabody's Apples is a beautifully illustrated, overwritten book. Madonna, the book's author, is obviously not an experienced writer. Her use of unique names (e.g. Mr. Funkadeli, Tommt Tittlebottom, overuse of characters, and weak attempt at constructing a meaningful theme would have resulted in a rejection from publishers for any other children's book author, but for some reason Callaway Editions of New York agreed to publish this book. The book's cover proudly displays "Madonna" under the title which may lead some audiences to mistakenly believe she is also the gifted illustrator, but upon closer examination of the title page you discover Loren Long's name printed in tiny black letters. Had it not been for the "art" by Loren Long, this book would have absolutely no value, but instead the illustrations provide a whimsical aspect to the book and offer the audience an opportunity to explore the town of Happville. Madonna, obviously a vain solo artist, is better suited to serving the world as a stage entertainer than a conveyor of truth through literature. Perhaps the only graceful aspect of Madonna's writing career is her donation of all proceeds from the sale of the book to the Spirituality for Kids Foundation.
Love it! 
2008-03-04 - I love this book! I've bought it as a gift for others a few times now. Beautiful pictures and a good story. I was introduced to a handful of the Madonna books when I volunteered at a DC elementary school to read to a needy student. He was in 4th grade and loved it when I read the Madonna books to him, including this one. My Mom is an elementary school teacher in Utah; I showed this book to her and she fell in love with it, too!
gorgeous and good 
2008-01-03 - The art is fabulous, the lesson is a good one which teaches sensitivity to other people's feelings, and reading it to my 5 year old felt wholesome and right. I am cruising around the website right now looking for something like it to buy. Happy reading.
I enjoyed this book and appreciated the underlying moral
2007-10-29 - I enjoyed Mr. Peabody's Apples. While I believe that Madonna is quite liberal and I am quite conservative, I applaud Madonna for her efforts to provide children's books that capture a kid's fancy, yet provide a moral under the surface. My daughter is in 6th grade now, and last year much of the typical cattiness involved with preteen girls reared its ugly head with the excitement of spreading rumors. My daughter would come home with tales of this girl and tales of that girl (thankfully they were pretty tame tales) and we would talk about whether the stories were true, why somebody would act that way, and how would she feel if people were talking about her like that. During her 5th grade year I ran across Mr. Peabody's Apples and immediately correlated Mr. Peabody letting the feathers out of the pillow to the gossip spread at her school. I bought it for her to read and we discussed afterwards how you can't get back things you've said. Around this time my daughter's school had "Muffins for Mom", a day when moms come and read books to their kids' class. I choose to read Mr. Peabody's Apple to her class. I went to a craft store and bought a couple of bags of colorful feathers. BEFORE I read the book to the class, we all went outside and each student took a handful of feathers and on the count of 3, we threw them into the air (it was quite a beautiful site). We left the feathers on the playground and went inside and read the story. When the story was over, we talked about rumors and how it is impossible to get them back (just like the feathers). We then went outside and tried to get ALL of the feathers back, which was impossible. I think they had fun and got the point. Occasionally I run across the little baggy of feathers in my daughter's room, and it reminds me of that day and the moral of the story. I hope it remind her too.
From a teacher's point of view...
2007-04-03 - I used this book in my 4th grade Reading/Language Arts class as a "Somebody-Wanted-But-So" writing lesson with bilingual/ESL students. It lent itself very well to that lesson (my principal had my partner & I give a staff development lesson using this). The students enjoyed the book because they all could relate to jumping to conclusions and repeating gossip. I have Madonna's other books, and this is by far my favorite.
I've read the other reviewers' comments about the book as well. I think some have taken too deep a look into the book's purpose. Forget who authored it...I'm not a Madonna fan myself (not my genre of music). Enjoy it for what it is: a simple story with a simple lesson that's important.
