An Orange in January

by Dianna Hutts Aston (Author) Julie Maren (Illustrator)

An Orange in January
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade
Plump, juicy oranges are one of the great pleasures of winter and one that is usually taken for granted. Now here's an eloquent, celebratory picture of how those oranges have found their way to the grocery store shelves, and then into kids tummies! With vivid, glowing paintings, this unique picture book offers a poetic lesson about a plant's growth cycle and about the produce industry. We follow an orange from blossom to ripe fruit, from tree to truck to market . . . and into the hands of a boy who shares this treat with his friends on the playground, so that everyone could taste the sweetness of an orange in January. In the tradition of Apple Farmer Annie and Red Leaf, Yellow Leaf, this is a satisfying, celebratory look at an everyday object with a remarkable life story.
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Pint-sized consumers follow an orange as it travels from blossom to truck to store and finally to lunch box in this look at how we get a taste of sunshine in the midst of wintry weather. After pollination by bees, the orange grows, “fed by the earth’s soil and the ocean’s breath.” With lots of rain and sunshine, it is ready to be picked by a suntanned hand. From there, it’s shipped across long distances to grocery stores, until it’s chosen by a small boy (whose round face echoes the shape of the fruit). Its final destination is his lunch box. At recess, he shares the pieces with his friends, “so that everyone could taste the sweetness of an orange in January.” Maren’s acrylics perfectly capture the land of sunshine and oranges; readers’ mouths will water in anticipation. A good springboard for discussing food’s origins for the youngest listeners. (Picture book. 3-6)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 1. This poetic tale about the path an orange takes to the store begins in a grove near the sea. When the fruit is ripe, "a hand, brown with seasons of sun, plucked it from its branch, while dew still glittered on the leaves." Then, it is packed up and trucked off to a faraway grocery store, where it is carefully chosen by a boy wearing a red turtleneck sweater, a hat, and mittens. He plays with the orange on the way home, imagining himself a juggler and a baseball pitcher. The last spread shows him sharing his treat with friends as they play outdoors and snowflakes fall. Like the text, the glowing acrylic paintings are artfully simple and make beautiful use of color. Even the youngest listeners will gain awareness that food doesn't magically spring into being on the shelves of markets."Lauralyn Persson, Wilmette Public Library, IL" Copyright 2007 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Dianna Hutts Aston
Dianna Hutts Aston is the author of many books for children and is the founder of the Oz Project, a nonprofit foundation for disadvantaged children. She lives on an island off the coast of Texas.

Sylvia Long is the illustrator of many bestselling books for children, including Sylvia Long's Mother Goose and Hush Little Baby. She lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, with her husband and their dogs.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780803731462
Lexile Measure
610
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Dial Books
Publication date
October 18, 2007
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV029000 - Juvenile Fiction | Nature & the Natural World | General
JUV050000 - Juvenile Fiction | Cooking & Food
Library of Congress categories
Oranges

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