This biography takes the traditional song about Johnny Appleseed and matches it with the truth. Johnny Appleseed, really John Chapman, was born to a poor family, but his father was not a farmer because he did not have enough money to buy any land of his own. When his father went away to fight in the Battle of Bunker Hill, Johnny's mother died and he was forced to live with his grandparents. Upon his father's return, he had a new wife and she bore many children. Since his family was poor, Johnny dropped out of school and was hired out for work. This is when he began working with apples. In his twenties, Johnny became a missionary and brought his apples with him. He plants his apple seeds in Pennslyvania and Ohio. Johnny does not take his payment in the form of money, but in exchange for clothes, a meal, or a place to stay. Johnny dies in Indiana when he is trying to repair a fence. He catches pneumonia at the age of 71. Most of Johnny's land is taken by bills and lawyers, and his half sister only ends up getting $165.95 when everything is settled. I thought this was a very interesting biography as it took the legendary Johnny Appleseed song and told the facts of his story. I think it is great when stories do this so that children and teachers alike can learn the facts and true history of Johnny Appleseed. At the bottom of each page, the book included proof of how they knew this true story of him. It shows that the author did her research of him before she wrote the story. I believe this is a good book for children to read because they learn who Johnny Appleseed really was.
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