Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale

This book has beautiful pictures! The story of Johnny Appleseed has always been a favorite and Kellogg retells it very well.

This is a book about a boy named John Chapman who came to be known as Jonny Appleseed. He was from Massachusetts and wanted to move out west. The story is about how he traveled around planting appleseeds for new settlers and about his kindness to all nature. He reached out to animals, Indians,

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woodsman, and the new settlers, showing them kindness.

This is a wonderful story when teaching about being kind to others, helping others, or even sharing. The books also has very nice pictures to go along with the story.

In the classroom I would have the students think of ways that they could show kindness to others like how Johnny Appleseed did. It would make a nice reflective writing topic. It would be fun to have an apple desert for everyone also.

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This book is an adaptation of Johnny Appleseed. When Johnny was young he found a love for nature from picking apples from the apples trees that were by his home. As soon as he was old enough to leave home he went out to explore the wilderness. He made friends with Indians and experienced nature

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first hand by living in a cave underground. One day he ran into a band of men who like to hunt. This band of men were shocked to hear that Johnny would never hurt an animal. Johnny Appleseed challenged these men to a tree chopping contest. Johnny won and continued on his way to more adventures. Everywhere Johnny Appleseed went he told his stories. His stories are still told to this day.

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This book tells the tale of Johnny Appleseed. As a young man he went off into the wilderness to live. Along his way he planted apple trees for others who came across them to enjoy.

This is a great story for young children. There are stories within the book because everywhere Johnny went people who

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met him always had tales to tell about him. I love all the adventure found throughout the book.

I would like to read another story about Johnny Appleseed and compare and contrast them in the class. I would also have the students draw me a picture of what they believe Johnny looked like.

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This picture book tells about John Chapman, the man who headed west to explore the uncharted territory of the West. This book does a good job of telling the facts as well as the legend. The book is actually split into two parts (the real information and the exaggerated stories).

Johnny Appleseed is about a young boy, Johnny, who sets out on an adventure when he was old enough to leave home. He left to explore the wilderness out west. He stops quite a few times along the way and plants an apple orchard. He makes many friends along the way and throughout the book, he meets

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up with them again. They are with their families, and he is still moving west, planting trees.

I loved the artwork in this book. It was very detailed. I think the book was very good and very descriptive. It had very good adjectives and I could really visualize what was going on. I feel this book is meant for children on a more advanced reading level due to some of the vocabulary in it.

This would be a good book to use when talking about westward expansion. Johnny meets a lot of different people who one might have actually encountered on the plains. This would also be a good book to use on a unit about trees.

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Very colorful pages, a good way to inform students of Johnny Appleseed. Not a difficult text. Tells a lot of information about Johnny Appleseed.

"Johnny Appleseed: A Tall Tale Retold" is a book about the life of Johnny Applessed. The story includes what Johnny Appleseed liked to do and his contributions to the world, including caring about nature and helping others through sharing and positive communication. This book could be used for a

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social studies or language arts lesson, and definitely has multiple ways to make different subject connections with activities!
Type: Picture book - intermediate
Genre: Informational Narrative
Pictures: Painted, pencil

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I lovThe this story because Mr. Kellogg uses history and fiction in telling this charming tall tale. The illustrations are wonderful. However, because there are so many facts and information in this book I find that it would be difficult to retell. The book is part of my private collection. I teach

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a whole unit on tall tales, folk tales, fables, and fairy tales in due to fourth grade standards.

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This was a fun retelling of the Johnny Appleseed story. The pictures and story are both very engaging. I think that young readers might be bit confused because while this story does tell a mostly true tale of a man, it is also legend. This is not explained well in the story.

This book is about Johnny Appleseed, who went around the west countryside making clearings for apple orchards. He knew new settlers were coming to America and that they would need these orchards and also the path that he left helped them as well. He was helped along by friendly indians and

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continued on planting until he died. People claim to still see him to this day.

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This book is informational. The art in this book is illustrations that were done in both pen and ink and watercolor. The content in this book includes the life of John Chapman who later became know as Johnny Appleseed. Johnny Appleseed was born in Massachussetts and wanted to move out west. On his

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way he planted apple tress along the way for the settlers who were also moving out west. The reading level for this book is second or third grade. It would also be a good book to read aloud in front of a class. The topics for curricular connection is history. because Johnny Appleseed was alive during the Revolutionary War and he helped the new settlers move west. The illustrations in this book is paint and pen and ink.

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Summary: This book tells the story of the famous American historical figure John Chapman, better known as Johnny Appleseed. This spans Chapman's entire life and his journeys across the country, spreading his seeds and growing his orchards. Though Chapman was a real person, his story has been told

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and retold a countless number of times.

Personal Reaction: This book was a warm reminder of my childhood and I praise Steven Kellogg for retelling it as he has with many other famous traditional stories in the past. As to be expected of his books, the illustrations are to be admired and the way his words make the story simply flow are to be respected.

Classroom Extension Ideas:

1. Have the children plant their own apple seeds outside and periodically see how much they grow.

2. Have a day where children bring in dishes of any culture that involve apples and have everyone share and try each dish.

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Beautiful illustrations but lengthy text... would be good to listen to on tape!

The legend of Johnny Appleseed is actually the exaggerated story of the life of John Chapman. Born during the Revolutionary War, he made a life out of spreading apple ochards throughout the land and telling stories of what he faced on his journies. He was a lover of nature and that came through in

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his gentle relationship with animals and love of planting apple orchards. He met many friends along the way including Indians and other settlers. He would help them establish a life in the new land and always was willing to lend a hand. He loved to tell stories to the children about his adventures as well as the bible. As time went on, the stories of Johnny Appleseed seemed to take on a life of their own becoming bigger and more grand as they were being told by others. It was through the generations that the legend began and he took on a superhuman persona. This tale is a simplistic look at a large character with great illustrations to support. I especially enjoyed the illustration towards the end that showed Johnny in many unbelievable situations that were being told as believable tales. After John Chapman's death, the stories continued as did the embellishments of the character Johnny Appleseed.

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The story begins in 1774 when John Chapman was born in Leominister Massachusetts. His father was away fighting in the Revolutionary War, and his mother and brother both died before John turned 2. John was raised by his father and step mother and 9 brothers and sisters. The forest is where John

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would find peace and tranquility and friendship amongst the animals. When John was old enough to leave home, he headed west planting apple seeds as he went along. Along his travels to Pennsylvania, John met and lived with Indians with whom he befriended. John cleared land and planted apple seeds. John was now known as "Johnny Appleseed". John met many families and settlers along the way and shared his seeds and trees with them all.
I enjoyed the book as it was part of my library as a child. I remember having this story read several times to me as a child and doing reports on him as well. The illustrations in the book are great, very vibrant and appealing to the eye.
As a class extension, I would have the children plant apple seeds and watch them grown. The children could make apple cider, and apple pie or have apple snacks. Art work can be done with paint and sliced apples, as well as a nutritional lesson on the benefits of apples.

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This book would be good for a younger history class. It has good illustrations and good facts about Johnny Appleseed. This book walks through Hohnnys life from beginng to end. It talks about his family, how he got the name Johnny Appleseed, and how he was with animals and all. This is a book that

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could be extended for higher grades as well as lowered for lessons in the lower grades.

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Johnny Appleseed, is a classic folktale about a young man who planted apple tree seeds along his journey in early America. This is a great book for young children, it not only talks about a legend, it also shows how to be a good neighbor to others. I would recommend this book to grades 1 and up.

Fun tall tale about how apple orchards spread across part of the country! Steven Kellogg's illustrations lend themselves well to tall tales like Johnny Appleseed--lots of color and detail.

In this book, Kellogg recounts the tale of John Chapman, or Johnny Appleseed as he was better known. Based on the life of a real man born in Massachusetts around 1774. When Johnny was still very young he developed a strong fondness for nature, especially apple trees. As soon as he was old enough he

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decided to leave home to explore the wilderness toward the west and planted apple orchards along his way to help guide pioneers he knew would someday follow. As word of his life in the wild, befriending Indians and the animals, began to travel, fantastical stories about him began to arise and still live on today.
This is a very easy book not only to read to children, but also as a beginners book. The illustrations are large and colorful with a childlike feel. This could be used during an american history month to talk about how people migrated west from the coast or to introduce the idea of fairytales and other folklore.

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Johnny Appleseed is an American figure. In this tall tale Johnny Appleseed masters the wilderness chopping down trees and picking apples. Steven Kellogg takes this tale and adds beautiful illustrations to each page.

This would be a great read as a part of an American history unit discussing farming

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and homesteads. This book also touches on settlers and Native Americans, which can be used to tie to different pieces of American history, as well.

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Love the details of the illustrations in this book, and the story is a fun one!

Summary:
This book is about a young man named John Chapman. He loved nature and watching apples grow. He was of the frontier lifespan. He explored the wilderness off to the west while clearing plots of land and planting apple seeds along the way. He wanted the pioneer families who came behind him

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to enjoy the apple trees he was planting. He lived in the wilderness and continued clearing plots of land and planting apple trees. He was a kind and generous man and was eager to help those who needed it. Hence, the name Johnny Appleseed was born, He also told tales of his journey in the wilderness to children. To this day, people still enjoy reading about his adventures in the wilderness.

Personal Reaction:
I liked reading this book. I was impressed with his generosity of heart at leaving behind him all the land he cleared and planted apple trees for others to enjoy. This is truly a lesson on generosity and kindness. He enjoyed nature and so do I. I enjoy hiking in the mountains and taking in all the wonders of nature myself. I also enjoy seeing apple trees and eating the apples.

Extension Ideas:
1. Have the class make an apple tree. The students can use brown construction paper as the trunk and paste it onto white construction paper. The students can then use green fingerpaint and use their hands for the leaves. The students can use red fingerpaint and use their thumbprint as apples on the tree.

2. Bring in three different types and colors of apples. Explain to them the difference and have them sample each one.

3. Have the class eat an apple for a snack.

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This is one of those classic texts that I can remember from my childhood. It does a good job with Chapman's life and separating the fact from the legend. The illustrations are very nice as well, wonderfully entertaining.