Emma Every Day: Crazy for Apples by C.L. Reid, illustrated by Elena Aiello. Published by Picture Window Books, 2021.
Summary – This story follows a little girl named Emma and her friend, Izzie, on an apple picking trip at a farm. Unfortunately, their apple basket tips over and all of the apples they spent so much time picking are ruined and muddy; but will a little mud be able to ruin Emma and Izzie’s day? No way! Overcoming a difficult and frustrating situation in a surprising way is Emma’s next big challenge!
Target Audience – The target audience range for this book is ages 6-9. In terms of content, there are only three short chapters, and a glossary to help with difficult or potentially unknown words. The ASL instructions on how to sign several words are incorporated into the text directly and this may be difficult to interpret to very young readers. Emma herself is 8 years old, sitting near the middle of this recommended age range.
Strengths – This book excels in providing good representation and relatability. It starts off by introducing readers to Emma and her family with a small bio section that contains some of her interests (her favorite color, teal, her favorite food, tacos, etc.). It then eases into an ASL fingerspelling guide chart; it is here we are told that Emma is deaf and uses a Cochlear Implant (CI) to help her hear. Finally, on page 26, we meet another character, Candy, an adult who also uses a CI and who helps the girls pick more apples. This is representation that not only “normalizes” but also contextualizes potentially new and diverse concepts for young readers. The story represents Emma to readers not as her disability, but just as Emma – a regular person like you or me, who happens to be deaf. The story itself doesn’t revolve around Emma’s deafness, or treat it as a problem, but just explores her and her friend picking apples, and having fun like any child would.
Creative Uses– There are two sign language charts, a glossary for more complex key vocabulary, discussion questions and writing prompts in the back of the book that reflect on the events of the story. You could lead a discussion or free-writing response session to these questions, but I actually think one the best uses for this item is built in: teaching American Sign Language! You can help children learn how to fingerspell their names or practice the individual word signs in the back of the book as a jumping off point. You could also use this book as a related recommendation with an autumn or fruit/apple themed storytime (although it’s long enough that you will likely not have time to read it at a storytime)!
The Bookworm's Reading Blog 