Review by Booklist Review
Ages 4-8. Henry, the affable bear in Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (2000), hears some advice from his friends as he builds a small cabin near the pond. Emerson opines that the space is too compact to eat in. Alcott says it's too dark to read in, and Miss Lydia judges it too small for dancing. Each time, Henry pronounces it «bigger than it looks,» and leads his friends to an outdoor space nearby: a garden for eating, a sunny spot for reading, and a hillside path for dancing. One day, as Henry is enjoying his outside eating, reading, and dancing spaces, a rainstorm sends him running for the cabin, which he calls «just the room I wear when it's raining.» This novel way of looking at living space--outdoors as well as in--will appeal to children's sense of logic, which often defies convention. Well balanced structurally and excellent for reading aloud, the text offers a new outlook as well as a good story. The artwork, created with colored pencils and paint, is as unconventional yet comprehensible as Henry's philosophy of housing. Subtle patterns on overlapping planes enrich the pictures, which glow with warm, spring colors. On the final page, a note discusses how Henry David Thoreau built his cabin at Walden Pond. An unusually fine sequel. Carolyn Phelan.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
This worthy sequel to Henry Hikes to Fitchburg rewards repeat visits and inspires a joyful respect for nature. Johnson again conjures the practical spirit of Thoreau and venerates simple living. Walden's chapter on "Economy," complete with a budgeted list of building materials, generates the tale of Henry, a patient bear outfitted in a broad-brimmed farm hat and an outdoorsman's warm clothes. In early spring, with heaps of snow melting on the forest floor, Henry diagrams his dream house, a one-room cabin. "He borrow[s] an ax and cut[s] down twelve trees," hews the pine logs into thick posts for the cabin's frame, and constructs his walls from the weathered boards and windows of "an old shed." His thrifty ways and careful measurements indicate his conservationist approach, and his steady progress could inspire a present-day building project. When friends like Emerson and Alcott pronounce the cabin "too small," Henry replies, "It's bigger than it looks." He proudly guides them to a vegetable garden ("This will be my dining room") and a winding path to the pond ("This will be the ballroom"). The conclusion finds Henry happily lolling outdoors in his "library," resting his feet on the windowsill; he gets under his roof only when it rains. Johnson's singular illustrations of the changing seasons exhibit the planed surfaces of cubist paintings. Each scene sparkles as if viewed through multifaceted glass, and eagle-eyed readers will spot New England species like jays, kingfishers, foxes and red squirrels darting around the peripheries. Ages 4-8. (Mar.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Through striking illustrations and a minimum of words, Johnson, the author/illustrator of Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (Houghton, 2000), offers another chapter in the life of nature-lover Henry David Thoreau. Revealing a fine sense of economy, Thoreau (in the form of a bear) builds a cabin with room for only the essentials: a bed, a table, a desk, and three chairs. He purchases used materials to save money and incorporates the outdoors as an extension of his living space: a sunny spot nearby becomes his library and the vegetable garden is his dining room. The remarkable, quirky, and somewhat kaleidoscopic pictures depict the building's progress from drawing plans to finished cabin. The colored-pencil and paint illustrations follow the story line in fascinating detail. The tale's end finds the bear rushing through a summer rain to the shelter of his perfectly sized home. Thoreau's appreciation for nature is highlighted in the depiction of trees, pond, and rolling hills, while a wide array of animals is seen in the background. This early lesson illustrates to youngsters that you don't need much to have everything you need.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Primary) In this picture book and its predecessor, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (rev. 5/00), Johnson demonstrates why Thoreau is a true American icon. That Johnson is able to translate Thoreau's philosophy into a picture-book format with bears standing in for Concord's transcendental community is an example of ingenuity at work. For this book he has chosen a well-known episode in Thoreau's life-his construction of a cabin on the shores of Walden Pond. Incorporating stylized references to the flora and fauna of the area, the colored-pencil and paint illustrations are geometric in feeling with an emphasis on angles, softened by more rounded representations of deciduous trees. The sturdiness of the designs is echoed in the sturdiness of the main character. Forthrightly analyzing his needs, Henry becomes a model architect and builder, ingeniously recycling and careful not to disrupt nature. His efforts are not without critics, however, as one by one his friends-Emerson, Alcott, and Miss Lydia-try to convince him that the building is simply too small. But Henry, as always, marches to the beat of his own drum and completes his house to his own satisfaction, having defined just what a house should be and what purpose it should serve. A brief biographical note focusing on Thoreau's cabin, with a sidebar of Thoreau's cost and materials analysis, is appended. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In an effective retelling of Henry David Thoreau's cabin-building project, Johnson relates with light-hearted humor how Henry builds a cabin barely big enough for himself. As he builds, he is successively questioned by friends about whether it is large enough to eat in, to read in, and to dance in. Each time he replies, "It's bigger [or brighter] than it looks." Each response incorporates natural surroundings and expands his space since he anticipates eating in his bean patch, reading in a sunny spot beside his cabin, and dancing in the front yard. The rhythm of the story is maintained with construction work intermittently detailed between his friends' visits and queries. In the final scene, Henry barely fits in his cabin as he attempts to shelter himself from the rain. "This is just the house I wear when it's raining." Children will find this moment amusing, though younger, more literal readers may wonder as Henry "wears" his small shelter with his limbs sticking out of the windows and floor. Faceted forms are built of angular shapes and warm, natural colors; multiple perspectives fill the scenes, creating a dynamism that energizes the whole. Those who enjoyed Johnson's Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (2000) will delight in the familiar artistic style and reverence for his inspiration as Johnson again successfully conveys Thoreau's love of nature and his desire to immerse himself in the outdoors. The author quotes Thoreau's anecdote in his endnote and includes details about the building of his cabin that provided shelter for his two-year stay at Walden Pond. Readers will be waiting for more of Henry. (Picture book. 4-8)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
