About Trees: Resource List
Favorite Children’s Literature About Trees
- The Tree Book: For Kids and Their Grown-ups by Gina Ingoglia
- Be a Friend to Trees by Patricia Lauber
- A Grand Old Tree by Mary Newell DePalma
- Hello, Tree by Joanne Ryder
- Quiet in the Garden by Aliki
- The World’s Largest Plants: A book about trees by Susan Blackaby
- Forest Explorer: A Life-Size Field Guide by Nic Bishop
- From The Woods: Incredible Wood by Sanford S. Smith, and Lee R. Stover
- The Apple Pie Tree by Zoe Hall
- Goodbye Summer, Hello Autumn by Kenard Pak
- Tree: A Peek-Through Picture Book by Britta Teckentrup
- Apples by Gail Gibbons
- Because of an Acorn by Lola M. Schaefer
- The Apple Orchard Riddle by Margaret McNamara
- Why Do Leaves Change Color? By Betsy Maestro
- Going on a Leaf Hunt by Steve Metzger
Teacher/Parent Educator Resources
Michigan Apple Quick Facts
- Apples are Michigan’s #1 most valuable fruit crop, with a value of over $100,000,000 annually to the apple grower.
- Value-added marketing and processing enhance the economic contribution of Michigan apples up to $400-500 million of economic impact annually.
- There are over 8 million apple trees, covering 41,000 acres, on 1,000 farms throughout Michigan’s Lower Peninsula.
- Michigan expects to harvest 18 million bushels of apples annually.
- Apples are the largest fruit crop grown in Michigan. Michigan produced over 1.25 billion pounds of fruit in 2004 including apples, tart cherries, sweet cherries, blueberries, peaches, grapes, strawberries, pears and plums. Just over 60 percent of that amount was apples, which totaled 760 million pounds.
- Small family farmers who operate their own orchards dominate the Michigan apple industry. According to recent statistics, 99 percent of Michigan orchards had fewer than 100 acres in apples.
- Newer apple orchards are tending toward high-density planting, with upwards of 500 trees per acre.
- Well-trained, high-density plantings come into production much more
- rapidly than “standard” apple trees of old, so growers can bring desirable new varieties to market more quickly.
- Longtime favorite varieties still dominate Michigan’s orchards. The most prevalent variety remains the Red Delicious, followed closely by the Golden Delicious. The Gala or Royal Gala apple is rapidly gaining on tradition, however.
- Michigan also plays a vital role in processed apples. More than 68 percent of all Michigan apples are processed.
- Michigan is the largest supplier of apple slices used in commercially prepared apple pies.
- Michigan apples are also a main source for applesauce, fresh-cut slices, and fresh and shelf-stable apple cider.