Lizzy is scared to start school, so she makes a doll out of an apple from her favorite tree to take with her on the first day and keep her company. - (Baker & Taylor)

Instructions for making a real apple doll are included in this charming tale about a shy girl who makes a doll from an apple in order to have a friend accompany her to school--only to discover happily that real friends are just as easy to make if given a try! - (Baker & Taylor)

Lizzy loves the big apple tree in her yard more than anything. So when the first day of school comes, she picks a beautiful apple, turns it into a makeshift doll she names Susanna, and takes it along to keep her company. But her teacher tells her that dolls aren't allowed at school. Even worse, her sister says that Susanna won't last forever. Then Lizzy's mom shows her a way to turn Susanna into a real apple doll. And with the help of Susanna the Apple Doll, Lizzy overcomes her shyness at school and makes plenty of new friends to bring home to play in her beloved apple tree.

Detailed, delightful collage illustrations accompany this sweet story about one girl's success in bringing together her home world and her school world. Instructions for making an apple doll just like Susanna are included!

ELISA KLEVEN has written and illustrated many books for children, including The Wishing Ball. She lives in Albany, California.

Booklist Reviews

*Starred Review* Through every season, Lizzy loves the apple tree outside her window. On her first day of school, she uses it to create a new friend to take along with her: Susanna, a doll with an apple for a head and twigs for its body. When children make fun of Susanna, Lizzy leaves her at home for a while. Lizzy's mother shows her how to make Susanna into an apple-head doll by peeling the fruit, carving her features, preserving her with lemon juice, and letting her smiling face wrinkle as it dries. Newly aged but rejuvenated, Susanna accompanies Lizzy to school again and becomes the model for a class craft project. A plot summary does little to re-create the charm of this delightfully well-written picture book. Like the first illustration of the apple tree, where Lizzy lies happily on a branch surrounded by birds, cats, and squirrels, the pictures teem with life and intriguing details, but have at their heart the clear expression of the characters' emotions. Created in mixed media with collage elements, the illustrations vary in size and complexity, from small winsome vignettes to detailed, double-page spreads that carry the eye from the main character to the outskirts of her neighborhood. For children, parents, and teachers inspired by this inviting picture book who want to make their own apple dolls, Kleven appends instructions. Copyright 2007 Booklist Reviews.

Kirkus Reviews

Lizzy loves her apple tree in all seasons, but now that it's fall, she's very worried about her first day at school. For comfort, she makes an apple doll, Susanna, to be her friend. At school, she's told "no food," "no toys," and some children some make fun of her, so she stays home. Lizzy is still lonely and her apple is getting mushy. As the family is baking, canning and drying apples, she wonders, "Could we dry Susanna?" and she and her mother turn Susanna into a dried-apple doll. As the apple soaks and dries each day, Susanna becomes more wrinkled and smiley. With a new body and dress, all the children love Susanna on "sharing day" and want to make their own. Naturally, this helps Lizzy become a part of the classroom. Kleven's signature illustrations are bright, textured and bold with watercolor, ink, colored pencil and collage. The front endpapers are full of apples and those in the back are full of funky, delightful apple dolls. Two final pages tell how to make an apple doll, a craft sure to be added to the standard apple curriculum. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus 2007 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly Reviews

Ashy girl named Lizzy uses her love of apples to assuage her fears about starting school in Kleven's (The Wishing Ball ) latest. Lizzy adores the apple tree on her family's property throughout the year, particularly in the fall when it offers "apples for crunching, apples for munching, apples for applesauce, cider, and pies." Nervous that she won't have any friends at school, she picks her favorite apple to bring with her, giving it an "apple-twig body." drawing a face on it and naming it Susanna. However, her classmates tease her about her unusual doll ("Her brains are apple seeds!") and the next day Lizzy leaves Susanna at home, making her feel quite lonely. As could be expected, Susanna's organic nature soon makes her less than "fresh" and Lizzy's mother offers a solution—they peel the apple and soak it in lemon juice, resulting in a wrinkly, well-preserved doll ("She looks like a little grandma!" Lizzy excitedly exclaims). Lizzy proudly brings the new Susanna to school and inspires the entire class to make dried apple dolls of their own. Youngsters may be moved to do the same, and Kleven provides detailed instructions for parents and children to craft friends of their own to conquer heading-to-school fears. Ages 4-8. (Aug.)

School Library Journal Reviews

K-Gr 2— Lizzy loves apples—their crunch, their shape, their smell. She loves playing in the big apple tree in her family's backyard. As she approaches her first day of school, she selects a special apple to keep her company, adding a twig body to make it into a doll. "Susanna" accompanies Lizzy to school, but after the teacher explains that toys must stay at home and Lizzy's sister points out that Susanna will not last forever, the child becomes lonely. Seeking a new way for the doll to remain in her life, she and her family come up with a plan: drying Susanna. The transformation pleases everyone, especially Lizzy, who takes the doll to school on sharing day. Instructions on how to make an apple doll are included. Kleven's lovely mixed-media collage illustrations, especially those that depict the four seasons and Lizzy's neighborhood and school, are filled with eye-catching detail and activity. A sweet story about accepting change, working together, and forming new friendships.—Andrea Tarr, Corona Public Library, CA