Johnny Tremain
Ratings22
Average rating3.5
15
Ratings22
Average rating3.5
Johnny Tremain, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught up in the danger and excitement of 1775 Boston, just before the Revolutionary War. But even more gripping than living through the drama of Revolutionary Boston is the important discovery Johnny makes in his own life.
Reviews with the most likes.
Loved this one. Was especially fun reading this after visiting Boston and seeing so many of the places in person!
Johnny Tremain is the apprentice to a silversmith in Boston, and he is very proud of his work. He knows that he is the best apprentice in the area, and many people are trying to get him to come and work for them. One day while pouring silver, the crucible that he is using busts, and he is unable to continue as an apprentice. As he wanders aimlessly through the town, he wonders what will become of him. But he also makes friends with Rab.
As things in Boston begin to heat up with the start of the American Revolution, Johnny is fixing to learn that crippled hand or not, he can make a difference..
This was a great book and one that kids will enjoy! History without being boring, and a good story line to go along with it! I highly recommend this one!
I read this aloud to my son for part of our history, what a great, captivating story! He and I were both anxious to see what happened next. I did find myself editing the text a little as I read, just some phrases I found inappropriate for a 10 year old boy to repeat. :)
I was familiar with the story, a tale from the American Revolution. A boy, a silversmith apprentice, burns his hand in an accident that occurs while working on a Sunday (illegally) in haste. The boy, Johnny Tremain, is left unable to work as a silversmith apprentice. He is filled with despair. He is befriended by a kind boy, Rab, and together they are able to earn money by caring for horses. The job allows the boys to come into contact with British soldiers and to obtain secret information the boys can then pass on to the revolutionaries.
I wasn't as satisfied with the story as I'd thought I'd be. The characters, especially those who were actual people from history, felt flat, one-dimensional. Johnny seemed too prideful, too selfish, too judgmental for a reader to love, to serve as a main character. The words and actions of the characters seemed false, overly heroic, like the words and actions our mighty American forefathers should have used and should have done.
