Rabbit Ears: Johnny Appleseed

Rabbit Ears Productions had a consistently strong output, even weaker efforts are well worth tracking down and their best work is masterful. Their American Heroes and Legends series is one of the most consistent (other series in their output include Storybook Classics, Greatest Stories Ever Told, Holiday Classics and We All Have Tales, all high quality), where even the weakest is still very good and almost all the adaptations from the series are outstanding.

'Johnny Appleseed' may not be one of the very best Rabbit Ears adaptations, and as far as the American Heroes and Legends series goes it is not quite as amazing as 'Follow the Drinking Gourd', 'Mose the Fireman' and 'John Henry'. But it is close to their level and is outstanding in its own way, it sounds very slight on paper but it has always been a lovely inspiring story to me and it is done justice here. So is the titular character. There is more than enough here to prove why Rabbit Ears Productions' output deserves to be better known.

Everything works in 'Johnny Appleseed'. The illustrations are colourful and beautifully textured with the drawing never coming over as ugly. Also really loved the nice country like lilt to the music, with lovely use of the traditional fiddle, courtesy of Mark O'Connor who specialised in this style of music.

Garrison Keillor narrates with the right amount of bedtime story approach and energy, while also not going over the top or sounding bored. The writing is easy to follow without being over simple or childish, so target audience shouldn't be an issue.

The story is both touching and inspirational, and while it is not complex storytelling or relentless (quite gentle in places) it is not as slight as it sounds. It is a great accessible way to introduce one to the titular character if not familiar with him, and he is treated in an inspiring and relatable way.

Concluding, wonderful. 10/10.