Student Text 1996: Johnny Tremaine

In 1962, during our entire 2nd grade year, our uniquely wonderful teacher read this book to us several times a week. She explained, in her own words, everything about the era and the historical specifics that Johnny encountered during his experiences of personal growth and survival. As an added benefit to immerse and later remember those significantly important times, she taught us the Minuet, start to finish, which culminated in our appearance on the auditorium stage for the class performance. Initially, we reluctantly struggled to maneuver with any aplomb bec the dainty dance required the touching of hands, a loathsome and wincing activity not obligingly attempted between little girls and boys. But months of short bursts of practice provided such graceful interconnected movement that K-8th grade students, faculty, visitors, and family members stood up and clapped and clapped. Our teacher had tears in her eyes and the stage lights brightly reflected her tears like sparkling diamonds. When we all bowed or courtsied in one straight long line, some of the boys' handmade cottony Colonial wigs fell on the floor, adding waves of laughter from the audience. Our simple revolutionary costumes were also handmade, as was our background set imitating a French salon. It was one of those "you had to be there situations" to appreciate the serious efforts accomplished by little school kids to honor our nation's remarkable past. My teacher's name was Mrs. DeFrees and she received many genuinely thankful accolades for her extraordinary achievement. She enhanced Johnny Tremain as an unforgettable character tied to the realism of such dangerous and perilous circumstances that brave men like Paul Revere, George Washington, and many anonymous liberty seeking people had to endure to ensure our certain freedoms as a united nation of heroes and heroines. Thank you, Mrs. DeFrees, for instilling in me the love of history and research, and the knowledge that bec I learned the Minuet, I could do anything and not be afraid to try, even courageously holding a boy's icky hand.

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.

Esther Forbes' story of young Boston boy's adventures during the early days of the American Revolution, "Johnny Tremain," is a classic of children's historical fiction. As such it has been required reading for generations of middle school students, and assigned reading material, regardless of quality, will always raise the hackles of some students. Thus the bad reviews here should be taken with a grain of salt.The strength of this book is how it weaves the fictional story of Johnny Tremain, who had been a promising silversmith apprentice until an accident crippled his hand, with the historical events and people of Revolutionary era Boston. Johnny deals with the loss of his trade, his attempt to reclaim his birthright, a burgeoning romance with the daughter of his former master, and an increasing involvement with the revolutionary activities of the Sons of Liberty. The book brings to life the era of the Revolution and reminds the reader that the simple hope "that a man can stand up" did not come without tragedy. "Johnny Tremain" is a true classic, and makes for a great read. (Even TV's worst student, Bart Simpson, loved reading it- "They should call this book Johnny Deformed Hand.")

As a 5th grade teacher of gifted & talented social studies students, I found "Johnny Tremain" an excellent tool for teaching the American Revolution. Our textbook is dry and devotes only a small number of pages to this major event in American history. "Johnny Tremain's" historial places and characters help readers understand and visualize this important period of time. True, the vocabulary is high level. Teachers need to discuss vocabulary ahead of time. I read the book out loud to my class and discussed each chapter. The extra effort is well worth the final results.

Cocky, insecure Johnny Tremain remains on of my favorite fictional people. And his book remains one of my favorite stories. A few reasons why: The characterizations in this book are wonderful. No one is painted in strictly black and white. Even the apparent villains have their good qualities. The setting, as well, is fascinating and well-researched. Esther Forbes did, after all, win a Pulitzer Prize for history. She knew what she was describing and presented it well. The whole book has a great "you-are-there" quality. I first read Johnny Tremain in the sixth grade and must have read it twenty times in a row (mostly skipping the ending, which is sad). Then I got out the encyclopedia and read the article on the American Revolution. Now I'm majoring in history.

I am a Dad with an 8 yr old boy. I highly recommend this book for kids from about 8 or 9 through adulthood. This book is not just about Boston and the American Revolution. It is one of the best books I have read about: - real life characters, good and bad. - understanding others, and oneself. - making choices in life. - and, a fair portrayal of a rare event;A small group of Whigs who changed the world for the better.The American experiment was so brilliant that most people in the world still do not understand it. That includes most Americans. Many countries have tried to copy this experiment. Many Americans would like to end the experiment. Johnny Tremain is a powerful book that reminds us that ordinary people created something very extraordinary.