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John Burroughs List of Nature Books for Young Readers

NCSS/CBC Notable Children's Trade Book in the Field of Social Studies

Reviews

  Kirkus Reviews - February 28, 2002

These excerpts from Thoreau's own journal piece together the events that formed the basis for Walden. Borrowing an axe from a friend, young Thoreau enters the woods and begins to cut down trees to build his house. Working alongside the sounds, sights, and smells of nature, he begins to form his philosophy for which he is famous: living life simply. As the seasons pass, Thoreau erects his house and begins to live in the woods full-time. He often sits quietly observing the birds as they flit from tree to tree with only the sounds of humanity to remind him of the passage of time. Whether it is picking ripe raspberries; sitting in a boat on the nearby pond; or entertaining other travelers in the woods, Thoreau is reminded, "We can never have enough of nature." Richly layered watercolor and oil paintings depict the natural world in which Thoreau lived. From large landscape paintings, to that of a single flower or chestnut, readers will enjoy the work's visual appeal as they read through the original text. Written for younger children, this might also assist older children or even adults as an introduction to one of the great philosophers in American history. An editor's note following the text gives more information about Thoreau's life and work.

  Publishers Weekly - February 28, 2002

Schnur (The Shadow Children) deftly plucks Thoreau's own words from Walden, and Fiore's (The Boston Tea Party) luminous watercolor and oil paintings affectingly evoke the simplicity and serenity of this man's existence on his beloved pond. As Thoreau chronicles a key chapter in his life--his 1845 construction of the one-room cabin that became his treasured abode--he repeatedly marvels at the sights and sounds of the natural world, constantly changing with each season. Schnur's chosen passages reveal Thoreau as a participant in rather than merely an observer of nature: "Sometimes a rambler in the wood was attracted by the sound of my axe, and we chatted pleasantly over the chips which I made." Spare yet eloquent, Thoreau's words offer intriguing insight into his lifestyle as well as his philosophy. Describing the minimal contents of his house, he notes, "My furniture, part of which I made myself, consisted of a bed, a table, a desk, three chairs (one for solitude, two for friendship, three for society)." Fiore's striking panoramas underscore the beauty and the appeal of the locale that became Thoreau's home and inspiration, while the interiors and spot art emphasize the simplicity of his lifestyle.

  Booklist - April 30, 2002

"Near the end of March I borrowed an ax and went down to the woods near Walden Pond...&quout; In brief, easy-reading passages chosen by Schnur, Thoreau describes the construction of his famous cottage, lists the possessions he filled it with, and tallies sights and sounds of the changing seasons, concluding, "We can never have enough of nature." Fiore's dappled, impressionistic woodland scenes make the sentiment easy to comprehend, though because his view is more often turned away from the actual house than toward it, children will see less of the building than its setting. Libraries needing a follow-up to offer picture-book audiences intrigued by Johnson's Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (2000) or Henry Builds a Cabin [BKL Mr 15 02] will be well served by this pleasing, sun-dappled picture book for older children. Schnur's afterword provides context.

  New York Times Book review - May 31, 2002

In Henry David's House, illustrated with impressionistic paintings by Peter Fiore, Steven Schnur excerpts and pastes together quotations from Walden to convey the process of Thoreau erecting his cabin and living there through the seasons. The quotations spell out details of the house-building: felling trees, cutting rafters, raising the frame, recycling the shingles, constructing the chimney. Then, following Thoreau's original structure, they offer observations of nature at different times of the year, like descriptions of summer perch and fall chestnuts.

The illustrations depict Thoreau as a very young man, looking closer to 17 than the 27 he was when he moved to Walden Pond. He appears soulful and serious. In several images, he stares off into space. The accompanying quotations have him saying things like, "Sometimes, in a summer morning...I sat in my sunny doorway from sunrise till noon, rapt in a revery."

It is true that Thoreau, as he portrayed himself in the original Walden, had contemplative moments in nature--reading in his cabin, for instance, or fishing on the pond (which Fiore captures in a beautiful aerial view), or measuring bubbles trapped in ice. But he was also cantankerous and extremely competitive. I haven't made an exact page count, but I'd say Thoreau spends more than half of Walden ranting about how stupid other people's ways of life are, particularly as compared with his.

Most of us read Walden, or parts of it, when we were teenagers or in our 20's, when the idea of holing up and fuming about what idiots other people are might have seemed a good way to spend one's time. But try reading chunks of the book as an adult. Thoreau comes off as a good writer, an enthusiast about exploring the self and nature and an engaging antimaterialist thinker, but also, undeniably, as a brat, not to mention downright nasty and obsessive at times. Henry David Thoreau discovered many things by living in the New England woods, but serenity—at least in any continuous way—was not one of them. So, oddly enough, Schnur's version, Henry David's House, with its implications of Thoreau's purity and oneness with a peaceful nature, seems, even though based on direct quotations, in total inaccurate and saccharine.

  Book Links - July 31, 2002

In brief passages chosen by the editor, Thoreau describes the construction of his famous cabin, lists the possessions he filled it with, and tallies the sights and sounds of the changing seasons.