Skip to main content

Johnny Appleseed: The Legend and the Truth

Image from amazon.com

In three parallel strands, Yolen’s near-poetic prose relates the tall tale, the history, and the bare facts of the life of John Chapman, who even in his lifetime was better known as Johnny Appleseed. Simply and rigidly organized, each opening presents a full-bleed, double-page spread, a new verse to a continuing song, a dramatized portion of Chapman’s history, and a briefly stated fact. The five-line song stanzas each end with the refrain “Johnny, Johnny Appleseed,” and serve as the conduit for the traditional tale, albeit in a soft-focus, generalized style without any mention of the specific outlandish acts of derring-do that make the Johnny Appleseed stories so compelling to many. Grouped in a apple-bordered, ragged-edged cartouche with each verse is an entry titled “The History,” which together comprise the bulk of the text, telling the story of Chapman’s life in a narrative which is factual but embellished with unknowable details to round out the tale. Down in a corner of each opening is “The Fact,” which generally explicates a central point of verifiable information upon which the associated verse and history are based, sometimes including references to source documents, although in a few places they stray into the realm of opinion. Spread behind Yolen’s text are Burke’s paintings, which vary in style from realistic portraiture to simpler figure work, often alluding visually to early American folk art. Sometimes supporting the facts, but more often portraying some aspect of the tales, the art also evokes Chapman’s era by borrowing geometric motifs typical of contemporary needlecraft. Yolen ends with a consideration of how Chapman’s fellow pioneers perceived him and the way in which the great man became a great legend.
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Notes From the Field: Waltz Across Texas, First Dance

Originally published August 1, 2024 Library Developments Blog |  Library Development and Networking Division Texas State Library and Archives Commission In July, I kicked off the first in a series of day-long turns around clusters of small public libraries to tour their spaces and chat about how the Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) can best support their leadership. This round, the fancy feet of Continuing Education and Consulting Team Manager Katherine Adelberg accompanied me as we spun through New Braunfels Public Library, Seguin Public Library, and Martindale Community Library. New Braunfels Public Library New Braunfels is perched on the brink of the Hill Country, right between San Antonio and Austin on I-35. Spanning Comal and Guadalupe counties with its 105,000 residents, it’s not only one of the fastest-growing cities, but is also regarded as one of the best 50 places to live in the United States. Established in 1845, New Braunfels is known for its German...
Post a Comment
Read more

Standing TALL: Choosing to Apply to the Texas Library Association's TALL Texan Leadership Institute

  After having attended the Texas Library Association's TALL Texan Leadership Institute , another library worker reached out to me with questions about my experience. Below are the answers that I provided in response. *** Why did you apply to Tall Texans?  Originally, I heard about TALL Texans as a new school librarian - within my first five years - and at the time it was described to me as an opportunity to gain meaningful leadership training in the field of librarianship that was specific to the Texas Library ecosystem. Thus, it was something that I'd aspired to for quite awhile. However, as time went on, I made my way toward leadership without having attended the institute and began to second guess the value of the investment. However, when I mentioned to my supervisor that I was mildly interested in attending, she strongly encouraged me to apply - stating that not only would the library pay for my tuition but that she believed I would particularly benefit from the con...
Post a Comment
Read more

Decloaking Wakanda: Creating Space for BIPOC Nerds

On February 9, 2023, at the fourth Joint Conference of Librarians of Color (JCLC), I had the exhilarating experience of guiding a discussion that focused on the need to connect with nerd culture and create a welcoming environment for the BIPOC fandom. The soul of this session had been several years in the making and built on countless heart-to-heart moments. So, I couldn’t imagine a better venue for seeing it actualized than my first JCLC. Furthermore, for this session, I had the honor of being in conversation with fellow nerds and comics librarians Jean Darnell and Deimosa Webber-Bey . To my eternal amazement, our talk was met with a standing room only reception, and afterward we were repeatedly regaled with tales of being turned away at the door. In hopes of capturing a small portion of that day's magic, this post grew out of that discussion. *** For the past 30 years, BIPOC nerds have existed in the cringe-worthy shadow of Urkel. What if, instead, they’d had portrayals such as ...
1 comment
Read more