Children’s Books About Thoreau
Kid’s Picture Books Introduce the Life and Thoughts of Henry Thoreau
Oct 30, 2007
Thoreau for today’s children
It has been shown and reported in books like Richard Louv’s Last Child in the Woods that children need nature. Not the nature in textbooks and television shows, but experienced nature. It is also clear that nature needs children, that is, the next generation, to become good stewards. Henry David Thoreau, who died almost 150 years ago, can be the one who connects them.
For one, Thoreau’s communion with nature was direct and heartfelt. Not a scientist but a woodsman and a gardener, his writings about life in nature are always insightful without being technical or theoretical. Some of his words, when carefully selected, are straightforward and recognizable even to today’s urban and suburban children.
Thoreau also had a marvelous sense of humor and an observant eye for beauty – but an aversion of sentimentality. Last but not least, he had a love for children, who loved him back and visited him regularly at Walden Pond, to “come a-berrying”.
The list
Several children’s books authors have recognized Thoreau’s potential role in the imaginary lives of our children. As a result, there are several books out there that introduce the man and his thought to kids.
The following list of books for young children about Thoreau is by no means comprehensive. Listed are some books that are recent and easily available, and some that are out of print but still worth purchasing second-hand or borrowing from libraries.
Also read about D.B. Johnson’s Henry series.
- The Trouble with Henry, written by Deborah O’Neal and Angela Westengard and illustrated by S.D. Schindler (Candlewick Press, 2005), takes an inventive and action-driven approach. Whereas most books show Thoreau in relative isolation at Walden Pond, this one imagines Henry’s relationship with the consumerist and wasteful lifestyle of the people of his burgeoning hometown of Concord, MA – the town he escapes by moving to Walden Pond. The town sets up a veritable (but fictional) conspiracy to teach "that mad rooster" Henry a lesson: the mayor plans to hand over the trees around the Pond to a toothpick factory! Of course Henry prevails. The pen and watercolor illustrations are charming and witty. Children even as young as 2 will love and empathize with the figure of Henry.
- Henry David’s House uses words by Thoreau (gleaned from his books by editor Steven Schnur) and is illustrated by Robert Fiore (Charlesbridge Publishing, 2007). This book employs selections from Thoreau’s most famous book, Walden, to tell the story of the building of his cabin and his subsequent two years of living at Walden Pond in Massachusetts. It simply describes the succession of the seasons, the beauty of nature and the tranquility of a life in harmony with it. True, this is a one-sided (and unrealistic) representation of Thoreau’s life, but it is helpful to introduce Thoreau to younger kids (ages 4 to 8) who have as yet no grasp of the intricacies of social life and strife. And the luminous and charming watercolors and oil paintings are each and every one works of art.
- Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute, written by Julie Dunlap and Marybeth Lorbiecki and illustrated by Mary Azarian (Dial, 2002, no longer in print), is for slightly older children, especially girls ages 5 and up. Beautiful colored woodcuts accompany the fictionalized story of the relationship between seven-year-old "Louy "(Louisa May Alcott, author of Litte Women) and Mr. Thoreau. A wild child, Louisa tremendously enjoys Thoreau’s weekly field trips with children of the neighborhood. Thoreau “teaches” about nature through direct experience, minute observation and the expression of personal awe and wonder. Louy sympathizes with her beloved teacher when winter locks them up inside. In Spring, Louy is ready to write her first poem, “as beautiful as the notes from Mr. Thoreau's flute”.
- Into the Deep Forest: With Henry David Thoreau, written by Jim Murphy and illustrated by Kate Kiesler (Clarion Books, 1995, out of print), is for children as of age 7. Murphy has selected from Thoreau’s journal entries and writings about his trips into the woods of Maine around 1857. Maine was in those days still a veritable wilderness and Thoreau revels in the escape from the crush of towns and crowds. Even when he and his companions get lost in a swamp, they keep calm. The story here told is quiet and serene. The oil paintings and pencil drawings are a pleasure for the eye. This book makes for perfect reading right before taking the kids into the woods.
- A Mind with Wings: The Story of Henry David Thoreau waswritten and illustrated by Gerald & Loretta Hausman (Trumpeter, 2006). This is a book for older kids, ages 9-12 and goes beyond Thoreau’s relationship with nature at Walden Pond. By fictionalizing conversations, it presents Thoreau’s schooling and his stint as a teacher, his night in prison for refusing to pay his taxes, his efforts to help escaped slaves, and his friendships with his brother and other thinkers like Emerson. Young adolescents will recognize their own situation in the struggle to reinvent personal identity, discontent with the state of the world, resistance to the expectations of society and the need for more self-sufficiency. The book is completed by the helpful addition of a biography, glossary and bibliography.
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