Book-A-Day Almanac

On January 1, 1735, Paul Revere, patriot, silversmith, and engraver was baptized in Boston’s North End. Although made famous by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow in “The Midnight Ride of Paul Revere,” our birthday boy’s story has attracted many fine writers over the years, including one of the descendants of Samuel Adams, the organizer of the Sons of Liberty: Esther Forbes.

Although Esther Forbes would become a brilliant writer for both adults and young people, she suffered from a type of dyslexia. She could not spell words and used the dash as her only form of punctuation. These problems did not deter her from beginning her career as the Assistant to the Editor in Chief of Houghton Mifflin. But she longed to write herself and worked on a biography of Paul Revere, Paul Revere and the World He Lived In, that won the Pulitzer Prize for history in 1943. An editor at Harcourt Brace suggested that Forbes try her hand at writing history for young readers. Because American soldiers were going into World War II, Forbes thought about how in peace time adolescents are protected but in war time we ask them to fight and die for us. Remembering the story of a young boy who delivered a critical message to Paul Revere, she produced the first draft of Johnny Tremain.

Not pleased with the story, the Harcourt editor suggested changes—but Forbes refused to alter her text. So she brought the book to Grace Hogarth at Houghton, telling Grace that she could publish the book as written. Normally, publishing a great story by a Pulitzer Prize winner would have been a “no brainer” for an editor—but Hogarth could not help but notice that Forbes never spelled any word the same way twice and had little comprehension of punctuation. Hogarth gathered her courage to tell Forbes that although she loved the book, she would have to standardize the spelling. Forbes merely said, “My editors always do that.” So a very messy manuscript got transformed into the greatest work of historical fiction for children in the twentieth century. However, according to editors on staff at the time, Forbes did drive two aging proofreaders almost out of their minds in the process.

This complex and brilliant novel spans two years in the life of Johnny Tremain, an orphan and silversmith apprentice. While casting a sugar basin for John Hancock, he burns his right hand and must abandon his position. But he finds work as a messenger for the Sons of Liberty, becoming swept up in the American Revolution. Forbes brought an amazing amount of historical detail to life and brings young readers behind the scenes as the colonists decide to rebel against the British. As the New York Times said of her, she was “a novelist who wrote like a historian and a historian who wrote like a novelist.”

I can think of no better way to begin a new year than rereading Johnny Tremain. It reminds all of us just how great historical fiction for young readers can be. Thank you Esther Forbes for showing us that spelling, grammar, and punctuation do not make a novel brilliant—only the story a writer needs to tell matters. Happy New Year—to all of those who love to read, and to write, children’s books.

Here’s a passage from Johnny Tremain: