Overview / 简介: |
| Henry wants to climb a mountain, and nothing is going to stop him. Then Sam, the tax collector, puts him in jail for not paying his taxes. Henry refuses to pay to a state that allows slavery. But being locked up doesn"t stop Henry. He still gets to splash in rivers, swing from trees, and meet a stranger. This bear, modeled on the real Henry David Thoreau, roams free. |
From Organization / 国外机构评价: |
| Grade 1-3-In his third book based on the works of Henry David Thoreau, Johnson tackles the writer's philosophy on civil disobedience. Feeling the yen for a mountain hike, Henry the bear sets off to retrieve one of his shoes from the cobbler. But before he can pick it up, he is jailed for nonpayment of taxes. While there, Henry uses crayons and his imagination to create for himself a new shoe, trees, and a mountain path to explore. At the top of his imaginary mountain, he meets an unnamed, barefoot traveler. Although the stranger's comments indicate that he is an escaped slave seeking freedom, his fur is the same color as Henry's-they are, after all, both bears. Henry gives the traveler his shoes and best wishes, then returns barefoot to his cell. Despite dealing with complex themes, Johnson's text does a fine job of explaining the essential conflicts without oversimplifying them. The colored-pencil-and-paint illustrations, filled with stylized, geometric forms, incorporate natural and historical details, such as posters offering rewards for the return of escaped slaves. Notes at the end offer more information about Thoreau and his writings, which explain the story's origins and deeper themes. Children will also enjoy the book as a tale of triumphant imagination akin to Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) or Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (1988, both HarperCollins). Fans of Henry's first two adventures will welcome this title, as will adults seeking to begin discussions on ethical behavior or human rights.
Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CA |
Foreign Customer Review / 国外客户评价: |
| As the third of this illustrator's riffs on themes from Thoreau (this time, a take on HDT's famous night in jail), "Henry Climbs a Mountain" is not immediately as satisfying as the first two ("Henry Hikes to Fitchburg" and "Henry Builds a Cabin"). The illustrations have lost some of the joy that distinguishes the first two books. The colors seem more subdued and the scenes less captivating. (One picture in particular, where Henry begins to imagine his way into the jail-cell wall, is positively awkward.)
That said, "Henry Climbs" is the most resonant of the three. For a book of some thirty-two pages, there's a lot going on here: a "Harold and the Purple Crayon"-like meditation on art and creativity; a parable on freedom and slavery; even a comment (I think) on compassion and interconnectedness. It's no wonder this book isn't as fun as the first two! But it's still far from somber. Johnson's insertion of small creatures throughout, especially Henry's fellow cellmate (a mouse), brightens the mood considerably, and the whole book ends on a two-page spread that's appropriately vernal in its color and hope.
The Henry who stopped for blueberries on the way to Fitchburg and still arrived in time for a moonlight sit with his friend has changed. (I'd say he's not just for kids anymore, but then, he never really was.) It's good, though, to see this bear growing up just a little. One misses the ecstatic illustrations of "Fitchburg" and "Cabin," but I think "Climbs" will stick with the reader longer. This is one of the most intelligent picture books of the year--a worthy successor to Johnson's first two books and, like the others, a wonderful way to re-energize even a jaded adult's fondness for Thoreau.
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About the Author / 作者介绍: |
| D. B. Johnson has been a freelance illustrator for more than twenty years and has done editorial cartoons, comic strips, and conceptual illustrations for magazines and newspapers around the country. Mr. Johnson’s first picture book, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, was a New York Times bestseller and a Publishers Weekly bestseller, as well as an American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists.” Henry Hikes to Fitchburg also won numerous awards, including the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Picture Books and the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. Mr. Johnson and his wife, Linda, live in New Hampshire. |
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