Seed by Seed: The Legend and Legacy of John "Appleseed" Chapman

by Esmé Raji Codell, Lynne Rae Perkins (Illustrator)

Overview

His real name was John Chapman.
He grew apples.

But wait. So what?
Why should we remember him and read about him and think about him and talk about him today,
more than two hundred years after he was born?
Why should we call him a hero?

Esmé Raji Codell and Lynne Rae Perkins show us, in eloquent words and exhilarating pictures, why Johnny Appleseed matters now, perhaps more than ever, in our loud and wired and fast-paced world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061455155
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	08/21/2012
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.78(w) x 11.12(h) x 0.40(d)
Lexile:	AD940L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Esmé Raji Codell is a teacher and librarian and the author of many award-winning books for children. Even though she has already graduated from preschool, she still loves puppets, sharing, friends, snacks, and the occasional dinosaur. She lives with her family in Chicago, Illinois. You can find more story-time fun and support for your child's precious preschool years at her website.

Editorial Reviews

Codell's lilting text and Perkins's sumptuous landscapes will have urban parents ready to up-and-to-the-country.
—Pamela Paul

The New York Times Book Review

Lilting text and . . . sumptuous landscapes.” — New York Times Book Review

Praise for The Cardboard Piano: Kirkus Best Book CCBC Choice Horn Book Fanfare “Perkins’s . . . watercolors reveal a range of underlying emotions in everyday moments.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Praise for Pictures from Our Vacation: School Library Journal Best Books “Perkins is exhilaratingly free in her approach to the picture book form.” — Horn Book (starred review)

“Vivacious watercolors . . . [reveal] that the best memories remain resplendent in the imagination.” — School Library Journal

Praise for Snow Music: “Masterful and unique.” — Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

From the Publisher

Lilting text and . . . sumptuous landscapes.

New York Times Book Review

A simple introduction to an American legend turns up inspiration for making the world a better place. Frontier nurseryman John Chapman, born in Massachusetts just before the Revolutionary War, had traveled thousands of miles by his death and covered the Ohio River Valley with apple-tree nurseries, showing pioneer families how to start the orchards that would strengthen their attachment to the land. He had already become the legendary "Johnny Appleseed," known for singular habits of dress, kindness to animals, friendship with pioneer and original settlers and a love of books. Saintly stories ("The Native Americans respected him for his spiritual bond with his surroundings, his kinship with all that grew and lived") about Chapman inform this account. Codell says that Johnny Appleseed "left five [footsteps] for us to fill: Use what you have. Share what you have. Respect nature. Try to make peace where there is war. You can reach your destination by taking small steps." Perkins' watercolor, gouache and collage illustration is lively and disarming; a stitched sampler across one full opening offers rolling hills with apple trees in both blossom and fruit, Johnny Appleseed in the distance. Sources and acknowledgments appear on the title-page verso, while a final page offers suggestions for celebrating Johnny Appleseed's September 26 birthday, including a simple apple pie recipe and the graceful Swedenborgian hymn many children will know as "the Johnny Appleseed song." Sweet. (Picture book/biography. 5-9)

Kirkus Reviews

A friend to Native Americans and pioneers heading West, and to animals large and small, Chapman was a highly personable soul, and Perkins's images are likewise extremely engaging. From the shiny apples on the book jacket to the scenes of Chapman roaming the countryside, the artwork invites readers to settle down and enjoy the view.
—Abby McGanney Nolan

The Washington Post

Praise for Pictures from Our Vacation: School Library Journal Best Books “Perkins is exhilaratingly free in her approach to the picture book form.

Horn Book (starred review)