Seed By Seed

Non-Fiction Picture Book Wednesday

Here at Teach Mentor Texts we are always looking for more ways to support teachers! We've found that teachers seem to be constantly on the lookout for great nonfiction. We know we are! To help with this undying quest for outstanding non-fiction, we are excited to participate in Nonfiction Picture Book Wednesday hosted by Kid Lit Frenzy and The Nonfiction Detectives. Every Wednesday, you'll find a non-fiction review here - although it may not always be a picture book review. Please visit Kid Lit Frenzy and The Nonfiction Detectives to see what non-fiction others have to share, too.

Title: Seed by Seed 
Author: Esme Raji Codell 
Illustrator: Lynne Rae Perkins 
Publisher: Greenwillow Books 
Publication Date: August 2012 
Genre/Format: Non-Fiction-Biography/Picture Book 
GoodReads Summary: 
His real name was John Chapman.
He grew apples.

But wait. So what?
Why should we remember him
and read about him
and think about him
and talk about him today, 
more than two hundred years after he was born?
Why should we call him a hero?
EsmE Raji Codell and Lynne Rae Perkins show us, in eloquent words and exhilarating pictures, why Johnny Appleseed matters now, perhaps more than ever, in our loud and wired and fast-paced world. 
What I Think: I love Johnny Appleseed and apple picking in the fall. I will never forget when we got to try different types of apples in 1st or 2nd grade. We all got to choose which was our favorite apple. It was super fun. I also remember going apple picking with my family when i was little. When we first got married, my husband and I went apple picking at an orchard that was near our house at the time. We've taken Peanut apple picking the last couple of years, too. We have a favorite apple orchard that we visit every year without fail. This year was the first year that we went to the apple orchard and they didn't have a good enough crop for us to be able to pick our own. That was the first time for them in 48 years. (We did pick blackberries and raspberries and that was fun, too.) My point in all of this is that we love apple picking and I always think of Johnny Appleseed when it's apple season.
     I'm so excited to have this book to share during the apple season. Johnny Appleseed is such a great folk story but it truly is what I consider an American tall tale because the Johnny Appleseed story is based on a real person. I'm glad this book recognizes what is true and what is fictionalized about Johnny's story. The best part is that the altruistic part of the story actually is true. This book truly celebrates the notion of doing what we can for others and slowing down to think about our actions.
Read Together: Grades 1 - 5
Read Alone: Grades 1 - 5 
Read With: Johnny Appleseed by Steven Kellogg, Ten Apple Up On Top by Dr. Seuss, The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein, Ida B. by Katherine Hannigan, expository about apples  
Snatch of Text:  

The tales of Johnny Appleseed are three parts legend,

one part fact, stories we're not sure are true.

But the man, John Chapman, was real.

He was born on September 26, 1774, in Massachusetts.

He never drove a car

or sent a basketball through a hoop.

He never acted in front of a camera.

He never wore a medal.

He grew apples, and offered them to pioneers heading west.

Reading Strategies to Practice: Activating Background Knowledge, Making Connections, Making Inferences 
Writing Strategies to Practice: Personal Narrative, Expository, Descriptive
Writing Prompts: Write about a time when you or someone you know did something altruistic - to help others. Write about the process of apple picking; making caramel apples, making an apple pie. Describe your favorite type of apple - describe what it is it like to bite into an apple using all your five sense.
Topics Covered: Folk Literature - Tall Tales, Hard Work, Perseverance, Goodwill 

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