Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna, Loren Long - Children's Books - First Edition, Story Book, Kabbalah, Baal Shem Tov, Baseball

First edition of Mr. Peabody's Apples by Madonna. A history teacher and baseball coach teaches a boy the dangers of jumping to conclusions and spreading rumors.

Written by Madonna. Illustrated by Loren Long. 2003 stated first edition, first printing. Calloway Editions, New York.

I'm a fan of Madonna...yes, THAT Madonna...and like her children's books. Mr. Peabody's Apples is her second story book. As a student of Kabbalah, a Jewish spiritual tradition, she followed her instructor's advice and wrote stories that conveyed the wisdom and lessons that she learned. This story was written by the Baal Shem Tov, a great teacher in Ukraine, over 300 years ago.

"In the town of Happville (which wasn't a very big town), Mr. Peabody was congratulating his Little League team on a great game. They had no won, but no one really cared, because they'd had such a good time playing.

Mr. Peabody was the history teacher at the local elementary school, and in the summertime, he dedicated every Saturday to organizing baseball games with other schools.

Billy Little (who wasn't a very big boy) was one of Mr. Peabody's students. He loved baseball more than anything, and thought Mr. Peabody was the greatest. ..."

Until another player, Tommy, sees Mr. Peabody take an apple from the fruit stand at Funkadeli's market without appearing to pay for it, not once but twice. Tommy spreads the story all over town. Throughout the week the teacher's friends and neighbors are less friendly and the following Saturday only Billy shows up to play baseball. When he explains the reason to Mr. Peabody - "Everybody thinks you're a thief" - the teacher asks him to walk with him to Funkadeli's. He asks the grocer if he can take an apple earlier than usual. "Sure, why not?" replied Mr. Funkadeli. "You pay for them every Saturday morning when you pick up your milk..."

The teacher then sends for Tommy to meet him at his house. On hearing the truth Tommy feels terrible for spreading the rumor and asks what he can do to make things right. The teacher sends him to fetch a feather pillow and meet him back at the ball field at the top of the bleachers.

Standing on the top bench of the bleachers Mr. Peabody instructs Tommy to cut open the pillow and shake out the feathers. It's a breezy day and thousands of feathers fly everywhere. Tommy is relieved, thinking that's all he has to do. But Mr. Peabody instructs him to pick up each feather. "I don't think it's possible..." Tommy replied. The teacher replies that it's the same for him trying to correct the rumor that he's a thief. "Each feather represents a person in Happville."

Lesson: "It is about the power of words. And how we must choose them carefully to avoid causing harm to others."

Artist Loren Long (1964 - ) is the award-winning illustrator of Otis the Train books, Of Thee I Sing by former President Barack Obama, Little Tree, and Love.

Read about how Long overcame colorblindness to become a successful children's book illustrator.
Nytimes.com/2017/12/23/books/a-colorblind-artist-illustrator-childrens-books.html

Other Madonna books available at The Charmed Bookshop:

The English Roses
Thecharmedbookshop.com/listing/618298313/the-english-roses-by-madonna-jeffrey

Mr. Peabody's Apples
Thecharmedbookshop.com/listing/618301269/mr-peabodys-apples-by-madonna-loren-long

Yakov and The Seven Thieves
Thecharmedbookshop.com/listing/552406439/yakov-and-the-seven-thieves-madonna

The Adventures of Abdi
Thecharmedbookshop.com/listing/618303753/the-adventures-of-abdi-by-madonna-olga

Condition*: Fine/Fine.

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