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Johnny Tremain (Yearling Newbery) (平装)
by Esther Forbes , Lynd Ward
| Category:
Award-winning books, Revolutionary War, Ages 9-12, Children's books |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 78.00
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| Stock:
In Stock |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
A historical fiction tells of the turbulent, passionate times in Boston just before the Revolutionary War which is a good book for young boys to read both to teach them history and to set them forward in life. |
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AllReviews |
1 2   | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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Ceritheya (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
I'd highly recommend this book. There's a bit of everything a book should have-pride, a theme, history, action, death, and a touch of realization. The prize apprentice silversmith of Boston, Johnny Tremain is proud and arrogant. He has a silver cup which shows his true ancestry. He is actually the grandnephew of a rich English noble family, the Lytes. He is forbidden to show this cup to anyone, but he shows it to his master's daughter, Cilla Lapham. This is handy later, but when he gets back home to the Laphams, John Hancock arrives and orders a silver sugar basin. Of course, Johnny is given the most difficult part, the handles, as he is the better of two other apprentices, Dusty and Dove. Yet, Johnny can't get the handles right and is forced to work through Sabbath. Dove on purpose hands him the cracked crucible, and Johnny cripples his hand. He is useless for silver work, but the Laphams don't turn him out yet. Still, his pride is also crippled, and he goes door-to-door looking for skilled work. He is rejected by everyone until he comes to the printer's shop. There, he meets a boy named Rab Silsbee. Rab works for his Uncle Lorne and aunt. Johnny knows he can't stay in their hospitality forever, so he goes to the rich Merchant Lyte for help and shows him his cup. Merchant Lyte accuses him of stealing that cup on August 23rd that year. Now, Johnny has a witness: Cilla. The case is dismissed, but Merchant Lyte cheats Johnny out of the cup. Johnny finds out Rab is a Son of Liberty. He joins in with some of their actions, such as the Boston Tea Party. He helps spy on them by sending letters for the British army. Then, Johnny went to the last meeting of the Sons of Liberty. He would never forget James Otis lecturing about how some would give everything just so a man can stand up. Before he knows it, war starts and Lavinia Lyte, who took Cilla as her servant and Isannah as her prodigee was going back to London with Merchant Lyte. Cilla is staying, and before she leaves, Lavinia explains how she actually admired his mother and how her father, Merchant Lyte did not mean to cheat him out of the cup, he thought he was taking back his own property. Eventually, Johnny discovers a few more-than-best-friend feelings about Cilla, and happily discovers she has them too. Rab goes to war, but is killed, leaving the theme of "A man can stand up" supported. And so the book ends, leaving the book reader at the same time satisfied and disappointed, wanting to know more and having fun guessing what would happen to the characters. I hope this long review helped you understand a bit more about the book. |
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Fruit Loop (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Esther Forbes' award-winning novel of a youth caught up in the turmoil of the American Revolution is a timeless classic that today's parents can enjoy again with their kids. Educational as well as entertaining with its portrayal of colonial "job training" (apprenticeship), the tragedy of Johnny's injury in an era of primitive medicine, the rise of the Minutemen and patriotic fervor, and the valuable relationships between friends. Highly recommend for any age group. |
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E. R. Bird (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
In 1943, with America deeply embedded in the worst of World War II, author Esther Forbes wrote a tale that touched on the founding of America itself. Since its publication, "Johnny Tremain" has remained one of the best known children's books ever written. It won the 1944 Newbery Award and is still read by schoolchildren everywhere. Heck, even Bart Simpson was lured into reading it in a "Simpsons" episode (Marge tells him that it's about a boy with a deformed hand and he' intrigued). Newbery award winners come and go. Sometimes they're remembered (ala "Caddie Woodlawn") and sometimes they're rightfully forgotten (ala "Daniel Boone"). "Johnny Tremain" is different because even reading it today the book remains readable, thoughtful, and interesting. It deserves its praise. Johnny Tremain is an apprenticed silversmith of one Mr. Lapham. Unusually skilled in the trade, Johnny's the star of the household. The other apprentices envy and hate him and the members of the Lapham family love him. Just the same, Johnny is unaccountably vain. Boastful and overflowing with pride, he lords his superior abilities over everyone he meets, even catching the eye of the greatest silversmith in Boston, Paul Revere. Yet when a broken crucible maims Johnny's hand with silver, the life he had planned for himself can never be. Desperate for work, he finally finds a place with the Boston Observer, a Whig news publication. Soon Johnny finds himself rubbing shoulders with the men of the Revolution. His life becomes enmeshed in the spy networks and fighting words that lead up to the American Revolution. In doing so, he becomes a major player in the creation of a new America. I read this book in elementary school and, sadly, remembered very little of it. What I did remember was Johnny's hand. Honestly, I think this book would sell like hotcakes if it was retitled, Johnny Tremain: The Boy with the Deformed Hand. Not that I'm seriously recommending the change. What really struck me, when reading this book again today, was just how well written the little bugger is. First of all, it begins with an unsympathetic protagonist. Up till now, most Newbery protagonists fell somewhere between saints and perfection incarnate. But Johnny is just the kind of little snot who needs to be taken down a peg to become a better person. This isn't one of those books where the hero gets hurt and suddenly makes a miraculous transformation from bad to good either. As you read the story you see Johnny's progress. He grows and learns from his injury, yes, but he also grows and learns from meeting and speaking with other people, which brings me to the second remarkable aspect of this book. The English, awful as they are sometimes, are not evil cackling villains. Johnny meets and even, to some extent, befriends British officers. He finds himself pitying the English wounded and sympathizing with their pain. Likewise, not all the American Revolutionaries are perfect gods. John Hancock comes off as a bit of a rich fop, and Sam Adams is seen gleefully rubbing his hands together over the prospect of upcoming destruction. So many stories create villains so ridiculously evil that they haven't a single solitary redeeming characteristic and heroes pious to the point of sainthood. "Johnny Tremain" could easily have fallen into that trap, but it doesn't. Instead, it gives a remarkably thoughtful approach to the nature of enemies, war, and freedom. The book is long, granted. Also, there are numerous spying/battle sections in which I had to continually backtrack through the text to figure out, "Now why is Johnny doing that?". The best way to lure kids today with this book might be to sell it as a Revolutionary spy book. I mean, Johnny really does become a kind of secret agent for the Yankees. He knows how to get information out of people and how to find out important English secrets. Best of all, the story has a naturalistic writing style that's easy to get through once you get going. If you want to give your kids a Newbery award winner that's as memorable and fascinating today as it was the day it was written, I cannot recommend, "Johnny Tremain" enough. Ignore the picture of the saintly boy on the cover. This is a book of adventure, pride, and war. |
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K. Bergherm (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
If you've ever wondered what it would have been like to live during the beginning of America, this is a wonderful book to read. Johnny Tremain is an historical novel about a young boy in colonial Boston. In the beginning, Johnny is an arrogant silversmith's apprentice but because of a work accident, his life changes quickly and he suddenly finds himself unwanted and alone. Through courage and the support of a new friend, he becomes a messenger boy on horseback for the Sons of Liberty and meets most of the famous founding fathers: John Adams, Sam Adams, James Otis, Paul Revere, and John Hancock. Knowing he can be trusted, he soon becomes a spy for the Sons of Liberty. Reading this book I could feel Johnny's excitement as he took part in the Boston Tea party and I could feel his sadness as he struggled with loss at the battles of Lexington and Concord. This book was well written, placing the reader back in time, wondering how such simple people could be so courageous during this turbulent time period. |
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Mike Taylor (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Johnny Tremain by Esther Forbes is a great American story. The deep plot of this story shows the adventures and troubles of a young orphan silversmith living in newly founded Boston during the beginning of the revolutionary war. Esther Forbes' character Johnny Tremain is one that shows how to deal with problems, and work through many exciting events. He is an arrogant worker, who knows just how good he was, now with his work impairing injury; he has to change the way he acts. Forbes' diction leaves you sitting on the edge of your seat drooling for more. She works to keep your attention, but at the same time gives a very important life lesson about growing up and overcoming troubles. A boy is faced with more problems in the span of a year, than most of us will ever face in our life. This unbelievable book gives you a glance at what the Revolutionary War was like, and some of the scenes draw you into the story, as if your there. The cannons and guns going off, the people around, this exiting tale was well written and will always keep your attention. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Johnny Tremain was a wonderful book about a boy who lived back in the 1770's. After hurting his hand on hot silver he has to find somewhere to live and something new to take up. In this book it tells about his actions in the Boston Tea Party and his part in the Civil War. Johnny Tremain is a character who takes us through the events in time with real people from the time. The book was a fun way to learn about the events that happened and the real characters that played an important part in history. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Johnny Tremain is a cool book I'm saying that because Johnny was a boy with a bad hand and was looking for work at a really young age. The thing I liked about Johnny was his bravery he had. Another brave thing he did was go to war when he was really young. This book was the greatest book I ever read in my life. I think you should read this book. I'm not going to give you the ending; I'm leaving that to you to find out. I would tell you one more thing; bravery is necessary. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
I started to read this book & I was like "Where is all of the action?". As the story went on, the plot got better. At first it seemed like Johnny was going to fulfill his wish of being a silversmith, but it took a turn for the worst. One day, while Johnny was working on the sugar basin, he asked Dove for a crucible & Dove handed him a cracked crucible that Mr.Lapham never used, because he wanted to get back at Johnny for being soo arrogant. After that, Johnny couldn't fulfill his dream of becoming a master silversmith, so he had to go find work and maybe a new home. He found a new job and a new house to live in at a newspaper shop with his new friend Rab. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
I've read Johnny Tremain several times, and each time I am fascinated by the characters. The town of Boston and the culture of the times also come to life in this story. Characters involved in the Revolutionary War seem like real people in Esther Forbe's portrayal - such as John Adams; the English deserter "Pumpkin"; the typical un-famous soldier signified by "Rab"; and the tories & revolutionaries who harbor a large number of opinions on the English king and the revolt. The book provides a good smattering of men and women, boys and girls, each with their unique problems in that society. I enjoyed that the plot included more than just a reaction to a quickly-forming war, but also a family mystery, class conflict, coming-of-age romance, friendship, loyalty and even loss - you know, all the good themes. This story makes the Revolutionary War memorable. It does heroicize certain characters, but life includes heroes and there is enough black, white and gray in the myriad of personalities to learn about human nature. For someone who loves to read about people and ponder why they do what they do to make them who they are, this is a fun read. It is also for those who like the details that bring you into the sounds and smells and history of a place. |
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A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-01-05 00:00>
Johnny Tremain is a historical novel about a boy whose dream is to become a silversmith, but his dream is shattered when his hand is burned and he is unable to pursue this dream. Then he has to find work elsewhere and finds himself working at a Boston newspaper called "The Observer." The newspaper publisher and Johnny's friend Rab who works there are members of the Sons of Liberty, a secret group that plots against the British, and so is Johnny. There is lots of action in this novel, such as fighting, shooting, and people being put in jail. So overall I thought it was a good book. I would also recommend this novel if you like historical novels and some good action. |
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1 2 | Total 2 pages 12 items |
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