The Sun, the Rain, and the Apple Seed: A Novel of Johnny Appleseed's Life - Hardcover

Lynda Durrant

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 061823487X ISBN 13: 9780618234875

Publisher: Clarion Books, 2003

Synopsis

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.

About this title

About the Author:

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.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 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, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Clarion Books
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 061823487X
• ISBN 13: 9780618234875
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 208