Review by Booklist Review
A young boy in jeans and a T-shirt knocks at the door of a small wooden cabin. This is where Henry David Thoreau lives, and if you want to spend a day with him, you have to arrive early, because he is up with the sun. Burleigh, in his compact but elegant text directed at the reader, never really introduces Thoreau, but he gives kids a sense of him through his actions. As they sit at the pond, for instance, Thoreau tells the boy, Living a simple life is the best way to be happy. Minor's spreads are impressive in their depiction of the outdoors and in the way they capture tinier moments, like watching ants. Yet, the pictures only marginally extend the text and take few chances. As a piece of bookmaking, however, this is quite handsome, starting with the endpapers that show a simple map of Walden Pond, and ending with a comprehensive conclusion, which features a two-page Thoreau biography and a list of observations he made about life (after each quote, a more modern explanation follows). A solid introduction to someone kids should know.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Burleigh puts a contemporary boy in jeans and a T-shirt at Thoreau's door one morning as the sun comes up; readers stand at the boy's shoulder as he finds Thoreau already at work. "You would... see nothing but three chairs, a table, a desk, and an old bed. Yet Henry has just what he needs." The message of simplicity and wonder continues as Thoreau and the boy row on Walden Pond, work in his garden ("I like to make the earth say `beans' instead of `grass' "), and watch ants fighting: "To Henry, little things matter as much as big things." Minor paints the meeting of the early American writer and the modern boy matter-of-factly, showing Thoreau in his trademark straw hat and blousy sleeves. Burleigh and Minor (the team behind Night Flight and other historical profiles) focus on the unconventional way Thoreau uses language ("From here the pond is like a wide-open eye staring up at the sky"), the magic of everyday observation, and the implicit anticonsumerist message of his pared-down life. Two afterwords supply more information and quotations. Ages 5-9. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2- In 1845, at age 28, Thoreau built a tiny cabin in the woods beside Walden Pond outside the town of Concord, Massachusetts. He lived there for two years, noting in a journal his observations of the animals, plants, and seasonal changes. His book, Walden, condenses his experience into one year spent communing with nature. Here, Burleigh has simplified Thoreau's life at Walden Pond to a short description of one day's activities as heard through the voice of a narrator and seen through the eyes of a modern young boy dressed in blue jeans, T-shirt, and running shoes. "Henry has just what he needs," says the narrator, as the child gazes into the sparsely furnished cabin. As Henry and his young friend drink cold pond water, watch darting fish from a rowboat, weed Henry's bean patch, and listen to bird calls on a walk in the woods, Thoreau uses "teachable moments" to enrich each experience, as he did with the students in his school. Two pages of brief facts about his life and a page of his thoughts on simple living are appended. Minor's impressionist/realistic gouache paintings are filled with the rich blues of sky and water, textured forest greens, and warm browns of cabin, earth, and tree trunks. In D. B. Johnson's Henry Builds a Cabin (Houghton, 2002)- a charming fictionalized story for the same age group featuring bear characters-Thoreau visualizes his tiny cabin as a spacious home. Burleigh's more serious, though somewhat fictionalized, presentation (due to the boy's presence) offers a glimpse of Thoreau's philosophy that young children can understand.-Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2012. 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 Kirkus Book Review
What would it be like to spend a day with Henry David Thoreau, observing and appreciating nature? Readers are immediately thrust into the world of Thoreau through the experiences of a modern boy who enjoys a day with the great writer from sunrise to dusk. Evocative prose replete with memorable images gives readers a child's-eye view of Thoreau's days, capturing the importance and excitement of being at one with nature. Images of a modern boy in basic jeans, T-shirt and sneakers and Thoreau in simple 19th-century garb wandering through the woods, water and meadows surrounding Walden Pond provide a shimmering tableau of the natural world. While the inclusion of both modern and older dress is initially somewhat jarring, the illustrations are closely interwoven with the text, providing keen visuals that are sure to draw in young naturalists. Initial information may have been helpful in providing children with context, but the end pages include biographical information as well as a selection of both Thoreau quotes and Burleigh's child-friendly interpretations of them. The audience skews a bit on the younger side because of overall tone, but older children will find much to interest them in the subject matter and final pages as well. A fine introduction to the value of Thoreau and the natural world. (Picture book. 4-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
