It might be a curled up red fish. Or a really large cherry. Or it might even be packed with clever devices, like an apple engine, redness regulator and flavour generator.
It could even be an egg with all manner of creatures inside. Perhaps if it's watered each and every day, it might grow and become an enormous house, complete with slides and a turret and it's own tree!
Shinsuke Yoshitake has taken a humble item and peeled away the skin to reveal a world of possibility. Existential musings on an afternoon snack? Absolutely. And done in such a way that totally delights, and won't for a moment skim over the head of younger readers.
Featuring fabulous monochromatic illustrations of both full scenes and comic-strip slices, this book is a visual delight for kids. I love an entertaining book that also manages to stretch kids' brains just that little bit wider--and It Might Be An Apple does just that, with immensely subtle philosophical ideas that'll have even the most world-weary adult smiling.
With an adorable ending and the desire to go straight back to the start and begin again, this is cleverness and fun in one crunchy bite.
Title: It Might Be An Apple
Author/Illustrator: Shinsuke Yoshitake
Publisher: Thames and Hudson, $17.99 RRP
Publication Date: 1 April 2015
Format: Hard cover
ISBN: 9780500650486
For ages: 3 - 7
Type: Picture Book
