Summary

Intricate pictures, each with an artfully printed silly line ending with the phrase, "and rain makes applesauce." The text points out the silly talk but concludes, without explanation, that rain does make applesauce.

Activities

1. Explain how rain does make applesauce.

2. Compare Bileck’s pictures with the Where’s Waldo pictures of Martin Handford. Compare the lives of Martin Handford and Marvin Bileck (see links below under "author").

3. Use a slow cooker/crockpot to make applesauce in the classroom, with students measuring the ingredients. Peel, core, and cut into chunks 3 pounds of fresh apples. Add to crockpot with 1/2 cup water, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/4 cup red cinnamon candies. Cook on high 4 to 5 hours.

4. Sing songs about rain.
   It’s Raining, It’s Pouring
   Itsy Bitsy Spider
   If all the little raindrops Were lemondrops and lollipops
   I Can Sing A Rainbow
   What’s the weather?

5. "I wear my shoes inside out." Help Elmo sort clothing in the Laundry Game.

6. "Dolls go dancing on the moon." Put the dolls jigsaw puzzle together.

7. "Candy tastes like soap." Review the value of a penny, nickel, and dime to visit the candy store.

8. "Monkeys eat the chimney smoke." What do monkeys eat?

9. "Clouds hide in a hole in the sky." Click-and-drag dots to create your own clouds then send them into the sky.

10. "Salmon slide down a hippo’s hide." Draw a picture for each of the five stages in the life of a salmon. Ask a partner to put the pictures in order.

11. "My Teddy Bear sings out loud at night." Pick the shirt with the letter asked for to dress Bear.

12. Teacher: Lead a group discussion in making their own silly talk based on the lines in Rain Makes Applesauce. In the following suggestions, one word is changed (shown by purple strikethrough) and one word or phrase is left blank for students to complete the silly sentence (shown by green underline).
• The stars/clouds are made of lemon juice.
• I wear my shoes inside out/backwards.
• My house/school goes walking every day
• Dolls go dancing on the moon/stars.
• The wind blows/snow falls backwards all night long.
• Monkeys mumble in a jelly bean jungle/swamp.
• Candy/Chocolate tastes like soap.
• Monkeys eat/wear the chimney smoke.
• Tigers sleep on an elephant’s snoot/back.
• Clouds hide/play in a hole in the sky.
• Salmon slide down a hippo’s/elephant’s hide.
• My Teddy Bear sings/shouts out loud at night.
• Elbows grow on a tickle tree/bush.

About the Author

• Marvin Bileck obituary (illustrator)

• Marvin Bileck biography from Alexandre Gallery (illustrator)

Awards

• Caldicott Honor Book, 1965

• American Library Association Notable Book, 1965

Related books

• Gibbons, G. (1988). The seasons of Arnold’s apple tree. Voyager. grades preschool-3

• Hall, Z. (1996). The apple pie tree. Blue Sky (Scholastic). grades preschool-2

• Kurtz, S. (1992). Applesauce. Good Books. grades preschool-3

More for the teacher

Links to other online guides for Rain Makes Applesauce.

Assessment

Rain Makes Applesauce. Accelerated Reader: Quiz #31891 EN; Book Level 2.5; Points= 0.5

Other related books:

• The Apple Pie Tree by Hall, Zoe. AR Quiz #28563 EN; Book Level 1.9; Points= 0.5. Reading Counts Level 2.1; Points 1.0. Lexile Level 480. Guided Reading Level= I.
• The Seasons of Arnold's Apple Tree by Gibbons, Gail. AR Quiz #051681R EN; Book Level 2.6; Points= 0.5. Lexile Level 580. Guided Reading Level H. Flesch/Kincaid 3.8