Blog Entry #15

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

By Esme' Raji Codell

Illustrated by Lynne Rae Perkins

Greenwillow Books, 2012

30 pages

Traditional Literature

 

I chose this book because Johnny Appleseed is a favorite topic in schools this time of year, and his story is a classic. The illustrations in this book are beautiful, and that was the first feature that caught my eye. This is a brand-new rendition of Johnny Appleseed's story, and it starts with a comparison of our world today with his world. The book talks about how some of Johnny Appleseed's story is legend, and it states many facts that are true about his life. This is the story of his life and some of the fascinating things that happened to him along the way. Seed by Seed talks about why we should remember the man that spread apple seeds all over this nation and his principles and values, and how he lived each day.

The illustrations in this book are stunning, and there are many of them. The text placement in relation to the illustrations is mostly formal to informal, and there is no negative space in sight. Most of the illustrations are set in nature, and almost every color in nature is used in this book. The media used in this book is painting using watercolor and gouache, embroidery, woodcarvings, and burlap. The media used gives this book a very naturalistic feel, which is appropriate to the story. The embroidery, woodcarvings, and burlap give the illustrations a texture you can almost feel.

            This book would be appropriate for second grade and up based on the length of the text. For lower grades, the teacher could use this book for a read aloud. This book could be integrated across the curriculum for subject areas such as science, social studies, character education, and reading. I would love to use this book for an Integrated Language Arts lesson in which a reading lesson is paired with a social studies lesson on Johnny Appleseed. This book would be great for an addition to a classroom library. Seed by Seed has received no awards or honors.