Durrant's (The Beaded Moccasins: The Story of Mary Campbell) well-crafted fictional account of Johnny Appleseed's life reads like an adventure tale. "One for doubt under the hoe,/ One to sprout, and one to grow." Johnny's father might have been a drunk ("Nathaniel Chapman's very soul stank of applejack") and an army deserter, but with this homily he plants a seed of inspiration in his son, who lights out for the wilderness to start apple orchards for pioneers. As he crisscrosses the Midwest, "Johnny Appleseed's" fervor about his mission and his ascetic lifestyle (he owns only the clothes upon his back, a saucepan that doubles as a hat and cornmeal, and his seeds and a Bible given to him as gifts) quickly makes him the stuff of legend. "You're all the talk of the Ohio, upstream and down," says a settler near Cincinnati. Though his mystical religious beliefs (he considered himself betrothed to a pair of stars he called "spirit-wives") make some folks nervous, they're won over by his sincerity and bravery (during the War of 1812, he ran for three days and nights to warn settlers of impending native attacks). Durrant weaves history and politics into her chronicle of Appleseed's colorful life, along with generous helpings of suspense, including a run-in with bears when Johnny inadvertently tries to share their hollow log. Lively, homespun descriptions ("Whenever he tried to reason it out, his brain would get as muddled as a corn-and-cranberry pudding") and an informative afterword round out the tale. Ages 10-14. (Mar.)
