Customer Reviews

Johnny Tremain

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Upper elementary and middle school students alike will enjoy following along to this narration. Initially, I was very hesitant to purchase an audiobook about a strong male character with a female narrator. However, her voice is clear, the pace allows the reader to easily follow along, and she engages listeners by changing her voice to reflect different parts.
Technically, the audio level of the cd is consistent; never too loud nor too quiet. Each CD is divided into 3-minute segments, which make them ideal for stopping and starting when classes change or reading periods end. There is no audible break - the 3 minute track menu is displayed on your computer's media player.

Our home schooling family has enjoyed Grace Conlin's reading of Esther Forbes' Johnny Tremain for at least two years now. I would recommend ripping the discs to mp3 files shortly after the original discs arrive lest you lose this wonderful investment (but no sharing or making copies!) This story is a regular favorite.

Johnny is an orphan boy apprenticed to a silver smith. Another apprentice, tired of Johnny's arrogance and continually bested by Johnny's skill, decides to sabotage Johnny's work. That results in a debilitating injury. Johnny Tremain is principally the story of a young man's life as he learns valuable lessons about people against a historically rich backdrop. The story is set in late colonial America and includes many fictional characters as well as a few factual persons (engaged in both actual and fantastical action). The great value of the book lies equally in its ability to evoke a time period and a context for history, and in its many moral lessons. It is a wonderful preface to studying the colonial period.

My 11-year-old son has a much better grasp of the Declaration of Independence, The U.S. Constitution and the reasons behind the founding of the United States than I had after my government class in 11th grade when I was 17! I credit this audiobook with laying a rich foundation upon which I have been able to build.

It's a great audio program for ONE listening with the grown-ups. (Personally I avoid enduring subsequent listenings.) That my 9 to 13 year old children listen repeatedly speaks well for the author's ability to capture the imagination of her intended audience, and the narrator's talent.

I think the story itself is great but I really wanted something to appeal to my son so I got the book on CD as well as the Disney movie. The movie is great and appeals to a boy but the audio is dry and read by a woman. It would be a 5 star for me if it was dramatized and was read by a male voice.