Aldo Applesauce

HOME SCHOOL BOOK REVIEW






Book: Aldo Applesauce



Author: Johanna Hurwitz



Illustrator: John Wallner



Publisher:  Puffin, republished 1989



ISBN-13: 978-0688221997 Hardcover



ISBN-10:  0688221998 Hardcover



ISBN-13:  978-0140340839 Paperback



ISBN-10:  0140340831 Paperback



Language level:  1



(1=nothing objectionable; 2=common euphemisms and/or childish slang terms; 3=some cursing and/or profanity; 4=a lot of cursing and/or profanity; 5=obscenity and/or vulgarity)



Recommended reading level: Ages 9 – 12



Rating: ***** 5 stars



(5 stars=EXCELLENT; 4 stars=GOOD; 3 stars=FAIR; 2 stars=POOR; 1 star=VERY POOR; no stars=NOT RECOMMENDED)



Category: General youth fiction



Reviewed by Wayne S. Walker



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     Hurwitz, Johanna.   Aldo Applesauce (Published in 1979 by William Morrow and Company Inc., 165 Madison Ave., New York City, NY  10016; republished in 1983 by Weekly Reader Books, 1250 Fernwood Ave., Columbus, OH  43216).  Fourth grader Aldo Sossi, nine going on ten, has just moved with his parents, older sisters Elaine (14) and Karen (12½), and cats Peabody (Peeps) and Poughkeepsie (Pooks) from New York City to suburban Woodside, NJ, where he will be attending a new school with a new teacher Mrs. Moss, and meets a fellow student, a girl named DeDe who always wears a fake moustache.  How did Aldo come to get nicknamed “Applesauce”?  Will he be able to make new friends?  And why does DeDe wear that moustache?



     This book is all about adjustments to new circumstances, such as moving to a new area, making friends, and dealing with family problems, with great teachable moments all through the book, including issues like teasing and standing up for what one believes in. Likeable Aldo tells all about moving to the suburbs and about his discovery that making new friends is not so easy.  It would be a good book to get a child who has made a recent move.  By the way, Aldo is a vegetarian.   This is the second in a series of six books about the Sossi family.  Others featuring Aldo are Aldo Ice Cream (1989), Much Ado about Aldo (1989) and Aldo Peanut Butter (1992).