Born in 1774, John Chapman is better known now as Johnny Appleseed. "Why should we remember him today, more than two hundred years later, and call him a hero?" asks Codell, distilling the answer into five tenets Chapman lived by: "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." In Codell's admiring prose, Chapman emerges as a kind of 18th-century American Francis of Assisi. Working mostly in watercolor and gouache, Perkins, too, knows how to use what she has: burlap, wooden planks, and embroidery make for a few showstopping spreads, underscoring the ingenuity and care Chapman was known for. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)
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)
Lilting text and . . . sumptuous landscapes.
New York Times Book Review
Gr 3–5—This picture book focuses on Chapman's way of life and the five "examples" he planted for future generations along with his apple seeds: "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." Codell points out that Chapman collected apple seeds from cider-press owners, who had no use for them, and he sometimes traded his trees for clothing. He gave away seedlings to those who could not afford to pay, lent his books to settlers, and entertained them with stories. He planted medicinal herbs and studied their uses, showed extraordinary kindness to animals, and developed a spiritual bond "with all that grew and lived." There is a homespun feel to the watercolor illustrations, a bit of cartoon in the few places that mention Appleseed legends, and a touch of folk art in scenes like the one showing Chapman sowing seeds in a grassy field adjoining apple orchards in all four seasons of growth. A purposeful conceit is woven throughout-a modern boy and girl find themselves back in Chapman's day, observing firsthand how he improved the world, deed by deed. The book ends with the challenge, "And now it's your turn. One small deed, every day. What seed will you plant?" Jane Yolen's Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth (HarperCollins, 2008) is more biographical; Reeve Lindbergh's Johnny Appleseed (Little, Brown, 1990) is a poetic tribute to Johnny Appleseed, the legend.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH
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)
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.
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)
