Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship By Edward Hemingway

It takes a firm apple to stand up to bullies.

When Mac, an apple, meets Will, a worm, they become fast friends, teaching each other games and even finishing each other's sentences. But apples aren't supposed to like worms, and Mac gets called rotten and bad apple. At first, Mac doesn't know what to do--it's never easy standing up to bullies--but after a lonely day without Will, Mac decides he'd rather be a bad apple with Will than a sad apple without.

Edward Hemingway's warm art and simple, crisp text are the perfect pairing, and themes of bullying and friendship are sure to hit readers' sweet spots all year round. Bad Apple: A Tale of Friendship

characters ↠ E-book, or Kindle E-pub ✓ Edward Hemingway

Clever word play and I appreciate the friendship message, but I found the story premise disturbing. An apple bonds with a worm that's eating him? 32 Cute read! Just because you have a worm for a friend doesn't make you a bad apple! :) 32 Friends do not eat holes in their pals heads. The central metaphor on which this friendship story is based is dysfunctional. At the end the apple says to the worm I'd rather be a bad apple with you, than a sad apple without you. Maybe it's about abusive relationships, and the difficulty of getting away from the abuser?

The illustrations are very cute, and the theme about standing up to peer pressure is nice. Maybe the apple/worm dynamic would bother someone else less. I am adding a copy to our library system.

32 You'd have to be rotten to the core to not like this sweet and punny story. 32 Mac was a kindhearted, happy apple, one who always helped elderly Granny Smith out, and who enjoyed swimming and playing with the other apples in the orchard. Then one fateful day, after sleeping through a rain storm, he found himself playing host to a new friend and companion: Will the worm. Apple and worm had a wonderful time together, but when Mac attempted to rejoin his fruity fellows in the orchard he found that he was rejected as a 'bad apple.'

An entertaining picture-book exploration of the nature of friendship, and of the necessity of standing up to bullies and their demands for conformity, The Bad Apple pairs an engaging narrative with appealing artwork. I particularly appreciated all of the puns and wordplay that Edward Hemingway included here - the aforementioned Granny Smith apple, Mac's name, the fact that Will is a bookworm, the mean crab-apples - and found the eventual reunion of the two friends sweet. The illustrations, done in oil paint, are colorful and expressive, with lots of fun little details, like the fact that the pupils of Mac's eyes are apple pips. Recommended to anyone looking for good children's stories about bullying, conformity and/or friendship. Also, to apple lovers... 32

Funny little story about an apple who becomes good friends with a little worm. 32 My almost-five-year-old son picked this book out from the library earlier this week.

The artwork for this book is adorable. The overall message about friendship is fine. The symbolism, however, is disturbing.

One day, an good apple falls asleep in the rain. When he wakes up, he has a hole in his head, and he has a new friend. The other apples, understandably, want nothing to do with a hole-y, wormy apple.

The way this book is written, friends are parasites; friends suck your brains out; and friends are abusive. This books would have been SO much better had the worm just hung out with the apple (without eating him). THEN, the friends are different message would have had so much more impact. As it is, I wouldn't want anything to do with a hole-y, wormy apple. 32 How many children's books deal with the complex issue of being bullied for who you like? I can't think of any and yet this is one of the most common weapons that bullies use. Bravo for handling the issue with kind spirit and humor.

While bullying is part of the book, Bad Apple is really about friendship and what it's worth to us. In a word, everything. My son read it and seems to really understand now that he's allowed to like anyone he wants to like as long as they treat him with respect. His cousin also read the book to himself one morning while visiting. He closed the book and whispered to himself I love this book. He didn't know I heard him.

A beautiful concept, beautifully done. 32 Bad Apple is a jewel of a book that celebrates individuality. Mac is a good apple. He helps his teachers, shares his toys and is very content in his world. One morning he wakes up different. A worm named Will has housed itself in his shiny interior. Mac finds his new companion fun. They fly kites and play games together. When the other apples see him, they call him names and shun him from the group. None of the other apples will play with him anymore, and worse than that, they call him a rotten apple. He is altered and they persecute him for his difference.

Although he and Will continue to have a good time together, ever the good friend, Will leaves so Mac will be accepted by his friends once again. However, nothing is the same. Much as he's been accepted once again, it just doesn't feel right. Mac misses Will's companionship. Searching all their old hangouts, they find each other and realize, he'd rather be a Bad Apple with Will than a sad apple without him.

Bad Apple celebrates individuality. Touching upon the obsession with appearance governing our culture, Hemingway allows that we don't need group approval. Difference can be pleasing and after exploring new things, we enrich ourselves as well as others around us.

Bullying is a hot button topic because so many brave people have had the courage to address it. Hemingway's easy to read text is a great platform for discussions on acceptance, friendship, bravery and tolerance. Bad Apple, the book turns out to be a 'golden apple of a read. 32 When good apple Mac makes a new friend in Will,a worm, they enjoy playing together. But his other apple friends pick on him because of his friend and call him rotten. After much verbal abuse directed at Mac, Will leaves him alone. But nothing is the same for Mac. Even though his apple friends include him in their games once again, Mac simply misses Will, and goes in search of his friend. He finds him on the top of a hill, flying a kite, and reading a book in true bookworm fashion. I loved the positive message about staying true to yourself and your true friends in this book as well as some of the clever puns and wordplay--even the phrase a good apple--as well as the oil illustrations. This is a book that children can sink their teeth into as they wrestle with the bullying behavior of the other apples and their inability to accept Mac and Will. 32