Apple Farmer Annie by Monica Wellington is the delightful story of Annie, a young woman who owns an apple farm and sells her products at the farmer’s market in the city. The book has bright, colorful illustrations that appeal to younger children as well as simple text making it an ideal read aloud.

The story teaches children what an apple farmer does and some of the ways apples can be used, all in the context of the charming illustrations. It is a fun starting point for creative writing, art projects, and field trips for younger children.

Apple Farmer Annie Synopsis

Annie is an apple farmer with a large orchard of various kinds of apples. Each fall she picks her apples, sorts them, and then uses them for various purposes. She makes cider, applesauce, muffins, cakes, and pies. She saves the most beautiful apples to sell.

Annie loads her apples and apple products into her truck and drives to the nearby city’s farmer’s market. She sets up her stand and is busy all day long selling her apples and the other things she made. At the end of the day, she packs up and goes home. Annie is very tired at the end of day when she gets home and puts on her pajamas, but she is happy because she enjoys having her own apple farm.

Homeschooling Ideas

Apple Farm or Orchard Field Trip – The best way to learn about apples is to visit an apple orchard. Before going, read aloud Apple Farmer Annie as well as Apple Cider-Making Days (if you can find a copy!) to acquaint children with the workings of an apple farm and/or cider mill.

KWL – A field trip also lends itself well to a KWL exercise using cute Apples KWL charts. If you’ve never used a KWL, see this post: Using A KWL In Your Homeschool Unit Study. 

Cooking – At the end of the book, there are three recipes for Applesauce, Apple Muffins, and Applesauce Cake with Butter Frosting. Try making one, two, or all three! 

Apple Taste Testing – If there isn’t an apple farm nearby for a field trip, it is still possible to give children a small taste of the farm. Purchase a variety of apples for a tasting party. Make a few different dips to go with them and enjoy trying apples of different colors, textures, and tastes.

Math – Complete the Graphing Activity – Apples and Measure With Apples Activity.

Craft – Complete this Apples Life Cycle Craft.

Writing Prompts – Children can write stories about Annie using these writing prompts. Younger children can dictate to a parent or older sibling. 

• Annie’s Applesauce Accident
• Too Many Apples for Annie
• Annie’s Apple Pie Contest
• The Mystery of Annie’s Disappearing Apples

Art – Apple Farmer Annie is illustrated in a bright graphic style. Provide your children with die cuts of apples, trees, pies, trucks, and other items from the story. Have them make a picture about Annie using both the die cuts (glued on) as well as their own hand-drawn illustrations. If they wish, they may either dictate a sentence about the picture for your to write on the picture or write it themselves.

Fun Facts – Apple Fun Fact Cards are a fun extension for any study of apples. Your children will learn amazing facts about apples.

Copywork – Apples Copywork comes in both print and cursive so there is something for every child working on handwriting. 

Apples Unit Study – If your children get very excited about apples, here is my Apples Unit Study post with even more learning ideas! 

Apples Unit – If you would like an all-in-one apples unit, please check out my Apples – A Complete Print and Go Learning Unit. It is full of reading, writing, math, vocabulary, science, and more. I’ve included colorful photos, dozens of print-and-go activities, and a cute apple life cycle craft.

Apples in My Shop