Johnny Tremain (Thorndike Press Large Print Literacy Bridge Series)

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Summary: Johnny Tremain
Review: I can't lay claim to being a rabid fan of historical fiction now, but when I was younger that was all I read, so I do know it well. Johnny Tremain, in my opinion, is a worthy read once and maybe twice, but not worth buying. It is about a young boy who lives during pre-Revolutionary War times. Johnny was going to be a silversmith, but an accident with the silver ruined one of his hands forever. He gets turned out on his [...] by the family he was apprenticed to, goes looking for work, has a few problems with his heritage, finds work, does some things with the British, his friend dies, and he's ready to fight.

One of the only redeeming qualities of this book is the writing style, which is wonderful. Forbes just should have picked a different topic. The content of this book is boring, the plot, non-existent. My eyes droop just thinking about reading it.

Needless to say, you should look into it, especially if you like historical fiction. Check it out at the library first, then look into buying it.

Rating:
Summary: UGH!!!!!
Review: I had to read this book for school, and the only reason i finished it was because i had to!! it was so dull that my normally fine attention span was about a sentence. I had to keep re-reading each page about 5 times before i could go on. i defitnaly do not reccomend this book if you are looking for a good book. All the people i know who have read it, do not like it. It is defitnaly not A good read for a 6th grade class. :(

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Summary: Poignant and gripping historical novel
Review: I must have read this book ten? twenty? times as a teenager, and so when I found it recently in the basement I started reading again to see if it was really as good as I remembered it. Better! "Johnny Tremain" is without a doubt one of the best books I have ever read, even as an adult. So imagine my surprise when I noticed that Amazon readers rated this only four stars?

For starters, this is not a children's book. I see fourth, fifth graders reviewing this book, as part of an assignment - and as a mother myself, this bothers me. This is a great book - but, I think, way over a fifth-graders head. Maybe *your* fifth-grader is brilliant and will absolutely understand everything completely - but for a classroom setting? What are these teachers thinking?

But for a teenager - "Johnny Tremain" brings to life the times of the Revolutionary War era as no other book, or history lesson, possibly can. Couple that with a brilliantly portrayed cast of characters - complex, vivid characters - and exceptionally vivid, emotional and fast paced writing - and you have the ingredients for a really good book. Maybe I am prejudiced - I love historicals, and always did, but perhaps it is the other way around - perhaps "Johnny Tremain" influenced me in the way that this book showed me how fascinating history can be.

"Johnny Tremain" is the story of a boy - fourteen years old - who is apprenticed to a silversmith, whom he calls his "master". As an exceptionally capable, talented young man - not to mention an exceptional aptitude with silver - he quickly steps into his master's family to find his niche as the head of the household - if not in name, then in actions (beint that his master is elderly). But how easily are the mighty fallen! For Johnny burns his hand on hot silver and, medicine (or midwifery) being what it was, it never healed properly. A future as a silversmith is out. Overnight, Johnny went from being a capable, bright boy with an exceptional future ahead of him to a nobody.

While this is an excellent story about Johnny, it is the times that he lived in that makes this book such riveting reading. Not only do we get to meet all the famous people who populate pre-Revolutionary Boston, we also get an excellent, clear picture of the everyday life of the people of that era. The way they lived, the things they ate, the way they operated - almost everything is touched upon in this extra-ordinary novel.

Johnny Tremain somehow gets tangled with the Boston patriots - and is right there in the thick of things just as the Revolutionary War has started. This is the only part of the novel that I found a bit too coincidental - but extremely interesting, nevertheless.

"Johnny Tremain" is one of the best books ever written, but would more easily be appreciated and understood by an older student, in my opinion. Happy reading!

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Summary: Stepping back in time...
Review: 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 excitment 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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Summary: Johnny Tremain
Review: Johnny Tremain
Johnny Tremain is a book in which the author writes about the American Revolution. Johnny Tremain takes place in the city of Boston in 1773. Johnny is a boy who is 15 years old and lives in Boston. His mother died when he was 12 years old. Johnny works as a silversmith for a talented but old silversmith. Johnny is the most talented apprentice of the three
apprentices employed at the silversmith shop. He became involved in the American Revolution and the battles at Lexington and Concord.
Johnny Tremain is an excellent and fascinating book in which the plot is well spoken and traps the reader. You will never want to put this book down. Johnny Tremain is probably one of the best kid books in print today. It has an excellent retelling of history with accurate dates, titles, and cities from
American Revolution. It describes Boston with accurate titles for the wharves and hills around the Boston area.
You or a kid should read this book to entertain, while at the same time, learn about American history. This book is a historical fiction book, but it still has the right facts. Johnny Tremain is a excellent book about the American Revolution and an excellent kids book to read. Johnny Tremain is a great character to read about. You almost feel as if you are in Boston, in 1773. Esther Forbes does an excellent job in displaying Johnny Tremain in this classic book.
Johnny Tremain was first published in 1943 by Esther Forbes. It's copyright was renewed in 1971 by Linwood M. Erskine, Jr. Johnny Tremain captures the American Revolution in its first stages. The book, Johnny Tremain, won the Newbery medal and national acclaim when it was first published in 1943.

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Summary: Great Historical Fiction
Review: This book altered my perception of, and fed my love for, history as a kid. It is a good read -- filled with action, intrigue; and, indeed, it gives you a sense of the sights, sounds, and smells of 18th century Boston. Basically the story is about Johnny -- a hapless, male "Cinderella" who burns his hand with molten silver (OUCH!!! The story brings the agony of that event painfully to life), likes the smell, but not the taste of coffee; generously gives limes to a whiny, naggy girl whom he fancies; then gets killed at Bunker Hill. So, life sucks, then you die. A very philosophical work. It ends like a French movie.

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Summary: Blech!
Review: This book was good because it has an interesting plot. There is a lot of action and adventure in the story and you should definitely read it if you are interested in the Revolutionary War and the events leading up to it. There was one problem though. I felt it wasn't as well written as it could be. Esther Forbes book had a lot of short, choppy sentences which created a low amount of fluency and a lot of bitter staccato notes.

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Summary: Johnny Tremain KCS
Review: This is the worst book I've ever (tried to) read! It was boring, it was stupid, and it was worthless. Our class had to rad it for school. One girl actually threw it in her fireplace when she was done reading it. Even some of the parents disliked it. I LOATHE this book. LOATHE IT LOATHE IT HATE IT! I am the fastest reader in my class and it took me 10 minutes to read one page! I agree with the other three reviewers who hate this book. All they ever talk about is how sad everyone is that they have to go to war and blah blah blah. Well WE DON'T CARE! THUMBS DOWN!

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Summary: after watching Disney's Johnny Tremain
Review: This was also required reading for our 5th grade curriculum. Daughter hated it, so about half way through to reinforce it we watched Disney's version of Johnny Tremain on home video. After that, she couldnt read it fast enough. The book filled in all the blanks the movie made for her, and she had faces and personalities to add to the book, along with visual points of reference.
In the end, she really enjoyed it.