Accompanied by beautiful paintings by an award-winning artist, a captivating picture book reveals the man behind the legend who forever changed the landscape of America. 20,000 first printing. - (Baker & Taylor)

Presents the story of of Nathaniel Chapman, who was born in 1774 and who, after becoming a member of the Swedenborgian Church, became known as Johnny Appleseed as he traveled across the country buying land and planting apple trees. - (Baker & Taylor)

Everyone knows the legend of Johnny Appleseed, the man from Massachusetts who planted apple trees all the way to California. But the true story of Johnny Appleseed, or John Chapman, is even greater than the legend. In deft and lyrical prose, Jane Yolen tells the whole story of an individual who forever changed the landscape of America.

Breathtaking paintings by award-winning artist Jim Burke illuminate the historical detail of this man's life while capturing all the magic and mystery of his legend.

Booklist Reviews

In this comely, homespun picture-book biography, Yolen assembles the fact and fiction surrounding America's favorite orchardist into a tale both substantive and lyrical. Successive two-page spreads conform to a careful organizational structure. Set on backgrounds that look like weathered pieces of parchment, each block of text features a stanza of verse that celebrates legend and a segment of history, wherein the author shares the truth beneath the myth. At the bottom of the page, a short note, THE FACT, elucidates the story, often citing sources and quoting primary material. By strictly maintaining her tight format, Yolen holds together the multiple narratives, offering a product that works both as colorful yarn and biographical study. Similarly, Burke's striking paintings conform to a natural, yarn-dyed palette of apple reds, forest greens, meadow golds, and midnight blues, echoing Yolen's piecework approach to the exposition with a subtle quilt motif. The reader, cradled in the boughs of such careful craftsmanship, is left with a story as sweet and nutritious as the fruit Johnny Appleseed sowed. Copyright 2008 Booklist Reviews.