In 1783, when John Chapman was nine, his father planted some apple seeds around their one-room cabin. A few years later, the fruit of those apple trees was feeding the growing Chapman family. Young Johnny marveled how all that was needed for this miracle to occur was the sun, the rain, and the apple seed . . . and so the “seeds” of a remarkable life took root.
This engaging new account of a man whose name is known to all American schoolchildren incorporates the facts of John Chapman’s life while evoking the fanciful and fantastic aspects of his character. By providing an inside look at Johnny’s convictions and quirks, his visions and voices, the author achieves an intimacy with and an understanding of her subject that make his story both dramatic and satisfying. With insight and clarity, Durrant shows that Johnny Appleseed was not only the stuff of legend but also a very real man, an eccentric visionary who was generations ahead of his time.
Here is a vivid fictional portrait of a real-life American folk hero, rich with colorful and carefully researched historic detail. Afterword, bibliography.
Lynda Durrant is the author of five well-received historical novels for Clarion, several of which have been named to state children’s choice awards lists. She lives in Bath, Ohio, with her family and a horse named Irish.
Durrant's (The Beaded Moccasins: The Story of Mary Campbell) well-crafted fictional account of Johnny Appleseed's life reads like an adventure tale. "One for doubt under the hoe,/ One to sprout, and one to grow." Johnny's father might have been a drunk ("Nathaniel Chapman's very soul stank of applejack") and an army deserter, but with this homily he plants a seed of inspiration in his son, who lights out for the wilderness to start apple orchards for pioneers. As he crisscrosses the Midwest, "Johnny Appleseed's" fervor about his mission and his ascetic lifestyle (he owns only the clothes upon his back, a saucepan that doubles as a hat and cornmeal, and his seeds and a Bible given to him as gifts) quickly makes him the stuff of legend. "You're all the talk of the Ohio, upstream and down," says a settler near Cincinnati. Though his mystical religious beliefs (he considered himself betrothed to a pair of stars he called "spirit-wives") make some folks nervous, they're won over by his sincerity and bravery (during the War of 1812, he ran for three days and nights to warn settlers of impending native attacks). Durrant weaves history and politics into her chronicle of Appleseed's colorful life, along with generous helpings of suspense, including a run-in with bears when Johnny inadvertently tries to share their hollow log. Lively, homespun descriptions ("Whenever he tried to reason it out, his brain would get as muddled as a corn-and-cranberry pudding") and an informative afterword round out the tale. Ages 10-14. (Mar.) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Gr 5-7-This historical novel details the life of John Nathaniel Chapman. As a nine-year-old in Longmeadow, MA, he plants apple seeds with his father and watches in awe when the fruit is harvested seven years later. His mission in life is revealed to him on a visit to an apple cider press in 1799, and he decides that he will plant seeds in the frontier lands of Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, so that future pioneers will have food. For the next several decades, he does just that, carrying his few possessions as he travels the wilderness, quoting verses from the Bible and talking to his "spirit-wives." He meets pioneers, Native Americans, and soldiers, and along the way acquires the name "Johnny Appleseed." A section about his nonpayment of back taxes is somewhat confusing, but does not detract from the story of how he remained true to his calling and the simplicity of his lifestyle, and the man is well delineated. In an afterword, Durrant provides historical details. This novel would be useful as a tie-in to frontier-history studies.-Kristen Oravec, Cuyahoga County Public Library, Strongsville, OH Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.
Shopping Cart
