The Sun, the Rain, and the Apple Seed — Lynda Durrant

In 1783, when John Chapman was nine, his father planted some apple seeds around their one-room cabin. A few years later, the fruit of those apple trees was feeding the growing Chapman family. Young Johnny marveled how all that was needed for this miracle to occur was the sun, the rain, and the apple seed . . . and so the “seeds” of a remarkable life took root.

This engaging new account of a man whose name is known to all American schoolchildren incorporates the facts of John Chapman's life while evoking the fanciful and fantastic aspects of his character. By providing an inside look at Johnny's convictions and quirks, his visions and voices, the author achieves an intimacy with and an understanding of her subject that make his story both dramatic and satisfying. With insight and clarity, Durrant shows that Johnny Appleseed was not only the stuff of legend but also a very real man, an eccentric visionary who was generations ahead of his time.

Here is a vivid fictional portrait of a real-life American folk hero, rich with colorful and carefully researched historic detail. Afterword, bibliography.