Arden Davidson is an American author best known for her book Playing Hopscotch on a Rubber Roof. It is a collection of poems for children and was published in 2006.
Arnie the apple hung from a tree
in an orchard a mile wide.
And every day the pickers would come
and haul dozens of apples inside.
They'd pick the prettiest of the bunch,
filling their baskets and pails.
But they always passed by Arnie,
ignoring his whines and wails.
'Please pick me!', Arnie would cry
each time the pickers sauntered by.
'I want to go inside with you!',
cried Arnie till he turned bright blue.
But the pickers ignored him day after day,
while Arnie hung there in dismay,
trying to nurse his shattered pride,
dying to be picked, to be taken inside.
Each new damn he'd do a trick
like spinning around on his twig.
But the picky pickers never stopped
for apples that weren't big.
Or juicy or red or bright or sweet.
Poor Arnie was none of these things.
He wasn't completely quite full grown
and he has some nicks and dings.
He dreamed what it was like inside;
lights and music all around.
Arnie just wanted to go there so badly
he flung himself to the ground.
the next day the pickers came along
and saw him lying there.
They took him inside and Arnie thought,
'This is it! I'm finally there!'
But when Arnie the Apple looked around
he realised his dreams were false,
cause in less than fifteen minutes
he was Arnie Applesauce.
Who is the poet talking about in the poem?
What was Arnie's wish?
What does the poet mean by 'each new dawn'?
What do you think the 'inside', where the apples were taken, actually is?
Why did the pickers ignore Arnie and not take him inside initially?
1. Where was the tree from which Arnie hung?
2. What did Arnie do when he saw the pickers?
3. How did the pickers move in the orchard?
4. What did Arnie do one day in frustration?
5. Arnie's dreams were