tells the tale of johnny appleseed, who he really was, what he did, and why he was important.
5 book

I like this book for three reasons. First, this book tells the story of Johnny Appleseed in a way that young children will be able to understand. For example, it explains that during the time of Johnny Appleseed people were moving west and why they were doing so. Next, I like that this book moves in a sequential order of the seasons. Moving from spring, then into winter etc. Lastly, I like that this book shows Johnny meeting the Indians, and how they taught him how to search for food. The main idea of this story was that Johnny spread his apple-seeds far across the land for all people to enjoy. His hard work paid off in the end. All of his work made him happy, because 'the whole world is his home".

Summary: Johnny Appleseed is going on his purposeful journey, to make the new country of America, planting apple trees in hope to make the country pretty. Johnny goes through the west, faces obstacles such as extreme weather, lack of supplies, and such things. but makes friends along his journey. Throughout the book, it describes how the land looked then and what kinds of lifestyle the people of the new country lived.

Personal Reaction: Great book describing a historical topic that is clear and easy to follow for young children.

Extension Ideas: Great book to read when discussing Fall weather, American History, Multiculturalism, Earth Week, planting/gardening. Taste test of apples, red, green, and yellow apples.

Summary:
Johnny Appleseed is about a boy who grows up planting apple seeds around the land. As he grows older, he goes back to see people enjoying the trees that he planted.

Personal Reaction:
This book impressed me with its plot and illustrations. They chose to keep it very simple for young readers.

Classroom Extension:
A classroom extension of this could be to have students plant seeds to take home. Students could also write an end to this open-ended story.

This story is about a young boy who exchanged apple seeds for clothing, food, or housing. He traveled along and met many different people while planting apple seeds and exchanging his seeds. Johnny Appleseed was known to dress differently than others, and many others laughed at his clothing.

Reaction: I never realized that Johnny Appleseed was a real character, I always thought it was a made up story. I had heard some rumors about him being real, but never crossed my mind that this was a true story.

Extension: There are many great ideas we can do as a class with Johnny Appleseed. I would love to plant our own apple tree/plants and experiment to see if they grow. This story would also be a fun folder matching game, the children could even color the pictures themselves and take it home to tell their family about Johnny Appleseed.