The Apple Tree Childrens Book Series
The Apple Tree Series is a four book series about a Jewish immigrant family, who
comes to America in 1910 seeking religious freedom and golden opportunities. The
family moves from the Lower East Side of New York City to the Catskill Mountains
in Upstate New York for fresh country air. Papa is too sick to work. Set against
a backdrop of Mountaindale, a quaint hamlet located within the township of Fallsburg,
this quartet follows the Bieman family in the Catskills over four generations through
the twentieth century. Recounting the immigrant experience to a new generation and
introducing the Catskills as the home and vacation destination for millions of people
during the last century, the series is filled with spirit and spirituality, humor
and heart.
These stories also detail the importance of the Catskill Mountains in Jewish American
History. From the humble beginnings as farms and boardinghouses to bungalow colonies
and small hotels, the Catskills developed into the greatest of the East Coast’s
legendary resorts and celebrated grand hotels. Each of the four books is seen through
the eyes of a twelve-year-old Bieman child over four generations and is set during
one of the four seasons within a different time period in history. Each work also
incorporates the spirit of a seasonal Jewish holiday and a family immigrant story.
A common thread is that families and friends come together to celebrate the holidays
and embrace America as a great nation of immigrants. Although written for children,
the universal themes make this series appropriate for adults and children of all
races and all faiths.