Granny Smith takes care her family and the trees that grow in her orchard. But that is not all. She finds that one tree needs a little extra care, grows it, and one day realizes that this tree has some awesome apples. Apples that while looked different, soon become a favorite of many. This is a story based on a woman named Maria Ann Smith. When she was 69 years-old, she Grandma Moses her way into the apple world from her small Sydney farm.
She is the “mother of apples” or at least the green gems called Granny Smith.
The story is just a simple tale about a woman and the bumps she deals with and the apple trees she cares for. When one tree produces a green apple, it just takes time for people to come around. The end. Nothing special. But what is special, is tht this fiction telling is real. That there was a real Granny Smith, and she was pretty bada$$. Michelle Worthington took a piece of history and made it accessible to all ages, and all people.
And this is all represented and presented by some goofy, fun illustrations by Katrin Dreiling. I am not usually a big fan of “offbeat” art that is this simple, but it fits the story perfectly. I am assuming that Mrs. Smith was not a fancy woman, and this story is the same. But there is a lot going on and it is just a good story, as I am sure she was a good person. (And there is a smelly joke we see and you all know I like me a good “smelly time” joke.)
I was able to read this due in February 2023 book on Edelweiss. And the CBR15Passport point is the book is set near Sydney, Australia (1868) and Mrs. Smith and her husband Thomas, were from England.