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

Esm%C3%A9 Raji Codell, illus. by Lynne Rae Perkins. Greenwillow, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-06-145515-5

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.)

Reviewed on: 08/20/2012

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Library Binding - 32 pages - 978-0-06-145516-2