The House that Jack Built, revisited

The Apple Pie that Papa Baked, by Lauren Thompson and illustrated by Jonathan Bean starts with "the pie, warm and sweet, that Papa baked" and travels outward to "the world, blooming with life" by way of the sky, clouds, rain, roots, the tree and its apples. As fun as this book is to read aloud, it is the pictures that take my breath away. This is Jonathan Bean's first book, not that you would ever guess. His artwork was inspired by Wanda Gag and Virginia Lee Burton and the gold, black and red pictures have an old-fashioned picture book feel. A Caldecott contendor is the consensus here at Children's.