Cover Image

If you spent a day with Thoreau at Walden Pond

by Burleigh, Robert.

Format: Print Book 2012
Availability: Available at 4 Libraries 4 of 4 copies

Available (4)
Location Collection Call #
Crafton Public Library Juvenile - Picture Books PICT F BURLEIGH 2012 CRAFTON 11/12
Location  Crafton Public Library
 
Collection  Juvenile - Picture Books
 
Call Number  PICT F BURLEIGH 2012 CRAFTON 11/12
 
 
Jefferson Hills Public Library Easy Fiction E FIC BUR
Location  Jefferson Hills Public Library
 
Collection  Easy Fiction
 
Call Number  E FIC BUR
 
 
Mt. Lebanon Public Library Children's Picture Books j Ea BURLEIGH Robert
Location  Mt. Lebanon Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Picture Books
 
Call Number  j Ea BURLEIGH Robert
 
 
Northland Public Library Children's Picture Books J PIC BURLEIGH
Location  Northland Public Library
 
Collection  Children's Picture Books
 
Call Number  J PIC BURLEIGH
 
 

Summary

In 1845 in Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau began a radical experiment: he built a cabin in the woods and lived there, alone, examining the world around him. He spent his days walking the shores of Walden Pond, growing beans, observing plants and animals, and recording his reflections in his notebook. These reflections eventually became his seminal work Walden .

In this lovely picture book, Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor imagine a special day spent with the celebrated writer and naturalist through the eyes of a child . Together Thoreau and the young boy watch small but significant wonders such as swimming fish, fighting ants, and clouds in the sky. It is a day full of splendor and appreciation of the outdoor world.

Published Reviews
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.
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
Additional Information
Subjects Thoreau, Henry David, -- 1817-1862 -- Juvenile literature.
Thoreau, Henry David, -- 1817-1862.
Publisher New York :Henry Holt and Co.,2012
Edition 1st ed.
Contributors Minor, Wendell.
Language English
Notes "Christy Ottaviano books."
Map on endpapers.
Description 1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations, color map ; 30 cm
ISBN 9780805091373 (hc)
0805091378 (hc)
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