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Janet Stone

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Crabtree Publishing Companywww.crabtreebooks.com 1-800-387-7650Copyright 2012 CRABTREE PUBLISHING COMPANY. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval sys-tem or be transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior written permission ofCrabtree Publishing Company. In Canada: We acknowledge the financial support of the Government of Canada through the Canada Book Fund for our publish-ing activities. Due to rights restrictions and copyright protection, contents in this ebook may vary from the published original.

Published in CanadaCrabtree Publishing616 Welland Ave.St. Catharines, OntarioL2M 5V6

Published in the United StatesCrabtree PublishingPMB 59051350 Fifth Avenue, 59th FloorNew York, New York 10118

Published in the United KingdomCrabtree PublishingMaritime HouseBasin Road North, HoveBN41 1WR

Published in AustraliaCrabtree Publishing3 Charles StreetCoburg NorthVIC 3058

Author: Janet Stone

Coordinating editor: Reagan Miller

Publishing plan research and development:Sean Charlebois, Reagan MillerCrabtree Publishing Company

Editorial director: Kathy Middleton

Print coordinator: Katherine Berti

Production coordinator:Margaret Salter

Prepress technician:Margaret Salter

Logo design: Samantha Crabtree

Product development: Victory Productions, Inc.

Photo research: Tracy Vancelette

Front cover: Featured characters from legends include:The Pied Piper of Hamelin, Johnny Appleseed, Sir Lancelotand Isolde of the Arthurian Legends.

Title page: The magical sword called Excalibur was lockedin stone until Arthur freed it, proving himself the rightfulking. The towers of Camelot, Arthurs future castle, showthe wonders that are yet to come.

Photographs:

The Bridgeman Art Library International (PrivateCollection: 18, 19

Circa Art: cover (Isolde with potion)

The Granger Collection, NYC: 5 (left)

Image Club Graphics: 10 (bottom right)

Wikimedia Commons: cover (Kate Greenaway/ProjectGutenberg eText: Pied Piper; The Grolier Society: Sir Lancelot from The Book of Knowledge; Howes Historical Collections of Ohio: Johnny Appleseed)

Shutterstock: All other images

Illustrations:

Barbara Bedell: 5 & 14 (apples)

Katherine Berti: 22 (scroll and inkwell)

Bonna Rouse: 28 (bear)

Margaret Amy Salter: 27 (parchment scroll)

What is a Legend? 4

The Legend of Johnny Appleseed 5

Legendary Characters 8

Dialogue and Dialect: Spoken Words 10

Setting: The Where and When 11

Plot: The Basic Outline 12

Themes: Important Ideas 14

Creative Response to the Legend 15

The Legend of King Arthur 16

The Sword in the Stone 17

Characters: Shining Examples 20

Dialogue: Formal and Informal Words 22

Setting: When Knights Were Bold 23

The Plot Thickens! 24

Theme: Ideas to Live by 25

Creative Response to the Legend 26

Writing a Legend 27

Glossary 31

Index and Further Resources 32

Contents

4

What is a Legend?Johnny Appleseed, King Arthur, Robin Hooddo these people sound familiar? They are allheroes from stories called legends. A legend is astory from long ago that has been passed downfrom generation to generation. Most legends tellthe story of a herowho performs great feats orgood deeds. Legends are usually based on a realperson or event from history. Over time, as thelegend is retold, some details get changed orexaggerated. For example, a charactermay have superhuman strength or magical powers.

Where do legends come from?The first legends are thousands of years old. They began as spoken stories told to one person and passedto another. These stories were later written down.Examples of legends can be found in every culture. In some legends, the hero is a national or folk hero.

Why do people tell legends? Legends are usually exciting and entertaining storiesabout heroes and their adventures. Legends can alsoteach us about the culture they come from. Very often,the heroes in legends display courage and strength.These legends inspire us.

Cultures from around the world have legends. Insome legends, the hero is a national or folk hero.Legends were often used to teach cultural values.We can learn a lot about a culture from its legends

In this book you will learn about thecharacteristics of legends. You will read legendsand learn how to write a legend of your own!

5

The Legend of Johnny AppleseedPeople have been telling the story of Johnny Appleseed for hundreds of years.

He is an American folk hero.

John Chapman was born in Leominster, Massachusetts,in 1774. Johnny and his family lived on a farm. Thefamily farm had good soil for growing crops. In the spring, bees buzzed around the sweet-smelling apple

blossoms. Sometimes Johnny would climb up a tree to a bee hive to get a taste of the bees honey.

Thank you kindly for sharing your honey. I wontdisturb you any longer, he would tell the bees.Johnny knew that bees worked hard for theirhoney. He never took more than a taste.

Johnny sure did like those apples. Theywere about the only sweet thing people had to eat in those days.

But as good as life was in Massachusetts,Johnny thought it was too proper. Heliked being outdoors in the forests. Johngrew restless, and when he was a youngman, he set out to explore the lands to thewest. He carried with him a big bag ofapple seeds that he received for free froma cider mill.

Johnny was an odd kind of fellow. Hehiked up and down the hills wearingold worn-out shoes. He had to stuff the holes with leaves and hold themtogether with string and rags! Why,some folks didnt know what to makeof him. But Johnny was friendly to thepeople he met, and they welcomed him

into their homes. He made sleds andwagons for their children and gave bits

of ribbon to the little girls.

6

Whenever he came to settlers farms, he told them, You need to plantapple trees. Apples make good eating when you pick them off a tree. Youcan dry them and eat them all winter long. You can make tasty applebutter and apple cider. And then he would give them some seeds to plantin their fields. Sometimes he sold seeds, or traded them for clothes.Usually, he gave the seeds away. After all, Johnny didnt need much. Helived alone in the woods and walked most everywhere he wanted to go.People saw him walking by dressed in old, raggedy clothes and wearing

a pot for a hat!

Soon the Ohio Valley had a lot of apple orchards that John hadplanted. He took good care of them, too. But Johnny soon grew

restless again. He piled bags of apple seeds into a canoe andset out for Indiana. Just as he had done in Ohio, he gave hisseeds to the settlers he met. Plant these seeds, he toldthem. These seeds will grow into fine apple trees. Appleswill feed you all winter long!

Front CoverTitle PageCredits and AcknowledgementsContentsWhat is a Legend?The Legend of Johnny AppleseedLegendary CharactersDialogue and Dialect: Spoken WordsSetting: The Where and WhenPlot: The Basic OutlineThemes: Important IdeasCreative Response to the LegendThe Legend of King ArthurThe Sword in the StoneCharacters: Shining ExamplesDialogue: Formal and Informal WordsSetting: When Knights Were BoldThe Plot Thickens!Theme: Ideas to Live byCreative Response to the LegendWriting a LegendGlossaryIndex and Further ResourcesBack Cover