Folks Call Me Appleseed John (Picture Yearling Book) [Paperback]

Andrew Glass (Author)

Book Description

Age Level: 6 and up | Series: Picture Yearling Book

There are many tall tales about Johnny Appleseed, but many people don't know that John Chapman was a tale-spinner himself. Here he narrates one of his favorites--all about the time his half brother Nathaniel came to live with him in the wilderness of western Pennsylvania. Filled with humor, this story shows the compassion and independent spirit of this quintessentially American hero.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Johnny Appleseed himself narrates this tall tale of some winter adventures on the frontier with Nathaniel, his young half-brother from Massachusetts. Low on food, he leaves Nathaniel snug in the hollow sycamore tree that serves as home, and sets off in his canoe. A journey among ice floes leads to other dramatic incidents, among them an encounter with a wounded wolf. Upon his return, he meets some Indian braves, who, it turns out, have been helping Nathaniel. Glass's (Charles T. McBiddle) pleasing vernacular breathes atmosphere into his tale: when he meets the wolf, for example, she gives him a look full of "hatred and suspicion," but, says Appleseed John, "I personally have always been on the best of terms with God's wild creatures, and my name, it seems, is widely known among them." He matches the rough-hewn tone with oil paintings that have been scraped and drawn on. Their homespun, almost unfinished appearance notwithstanding, they express a variety of moods, and their energy rises to the level of Glass's dynamic subject. A substantial note on the life of John Chapman-a.k.a. Johnny Appleseed-concludes this robust volume. Ages 6-10.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From School Library Journal

Grade 2 Up?Glass retells, in the voice of John Chapman, a series of incidents relating to Appleseed John and his half-brother, Nathaniel, who joined him in western Pennsylvania at the age of 14 or 15. The embellished account comes from Robert Price's Johnny Appleseed (Peter Smith, 1954; o.p.), which quotes from William Glines's recollections (ca. 1922) of stories told to him by Chapman's brothers and sisters. John sets out by canoe for Fort Pitt to buy supplies for the winter, leaving his brother in the shelter of a hollow sycamore tree. Pulling his canoe atop an ice cake in order to rest, he falls asleep and floats far past the fort. When he returns weeks later with provisions, he finds that four Senecas have saved Nathaniel from freezing and taught him to hunt small game with bow and arrow. The action-packed, large-figured cartoon illustrations are done in oils in earth tones and turquoise. Young Appleseed has a rough, scuzzy, backwoods look, admitting in the text that he expects he "smelled worse than a wild pig" after his river adventure. The text presents him as a plain, sensible, religious man. A two-page endpaper map shows the region where this folk hero traveled. Three pages of biographical notes are appended. A good read-aloud with historical content that will make the tale useful in classrooms.?Susan Scheps, Shaker Heights Public Library, OH
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 6 and up
  
• Paperback: 48 pages
• Publisher: Yearling (August 10, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0440414660
• ISBN-13: 978-0440414667
• Product Dimensions: 10.8 x 7.9 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,877,613 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars A Review of "Folks Call Me Appleseed John", January 24, 2006

By 

Pam Tee "Busy Mom" - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Folks Call Me Appleseed John (Hardcover)

My children and I seem to be on a Johnny Appleseed binge. We have read versions of John Chapman's life by Aliki, Andrew Glass, and Stephen Kellogg. Or rather we have read the other two and only I read this one all the way through.

Not that there is anything wrong with this book, but suffice it to say that the reviewers for "Publishers Weekly" and "School Library Journal" are correct and Amazon is mistaken about the age range. It is not a good book for preschoolers and kindergarteners.

Story line: Fictional tale about a visit by Johnny Appleseed's little brother Nathaniel. See the professional Editorial Reviews for details.

Pros:
-- good yarn (tall tale) that should keep older children interested.

-- There is a nice Author's Note at the end of the book which gives some facts about John Chapman that can remind we parents/caregivers of the real story.

Cons:
-- while a good yarn, it does not have as much `teachable/learnable' material as Glass' tale about Daniel Boone.

--The artwork is impressionistic and some younger children might not like it. [My 5 yo didn't mind, but it was too much for my 3 yo.]

--The story is told in first person which takes some adjustment for some younger children who are used to the third-person.

Three Stars for us. A fictionalized tale of Johnny Appleseed that is in our read later stack. Older children might really appreciate the author's different take on this folk hero.