Customer Reviews

Folks Call Me Appleseed John

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3 star:		(1)
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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.