Customer Reviews

Henry Hikes to Fitchburg

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There's a lot to love in this book by D. B. Johnson. There is the priceless story-lesson concerning two bears traveling to the same destination by widely divergent paths, one enjoying the pleasures of nature along the way while the other works to earn fare to travel by more modern means. There are the beautifully memorable illustrations, one after another, of the bears as they make their way to Fitchburg. And there is the message, to stop and smell the roses, take in a little nature, just walk. Or maybe just sit in the woods and read Thoreau.

What a wonderful book, and the illustrations are glorious. I heard this book reviewed on NPR and had to have it for my granddaughter. I have since ordered more copies for friends with young children. Although the two bears both reach the same destination, you decide which one had the greater life experience - and shame on you if you pick Henry's friend.

My son enjoys this book as a 14 month old because of the textand fine illustrations. As he gets older, I look forward talking aboutHenry David Thoreau and nature with him. He never seems to tire of this book and, unlike some of his other books, I don't tire reading it to him.

This book is an introduction for young children to the philosophy of simplicity. Johnson has adapted the true story of Henry Thoreau's hike to Fitchburg into a children's tale that kids can understand and cherish. As the book begins, Henry is talking to a friend, and they decide to go to Fitchburg. The friend thinks it would be faster to take the train, but contrary old Henry says it would be faster to walk. Rather than argue their points, the two friends each set off to Fitchburg in their own by their own method. Of course, the friend has to earn money to pay the train fare, so he spends all day doing various odd jobs before taking the night train. Henry, on the other hand, sets off walking, and enjoys the beautiful scenery along the way. They both eventually get to Fitchburg, but they had very different experiences in meeting their goal.

The format of the book, with one side of each page devoted to Henry and the other to his friend, gets children to focus on a constant comparison between the experiences of the two characters. By the end of the book, the children see that there are many ways to reach a goal, and contrary to common practice, sometimes those methods that don't cost money may be preferable- -it all depends on what you value in life. This book would be a great starting point for conversations with children about the choices that they or their families are making. And the pictures are wonderful, too!

I checked this book out from the library for my 18 month old. As any parent of a toddler knows, a trip to the library can be both wonderful and harrowing all at the same time. I borrowed this solely based on the eye-catching illustration on the cover as I was too busy chasing my little one to give it a good preview while there. This is now a favorite of the whole family and I will give it as a gift to all expectant moms/friends. It's a beautiful story with an elegantly simple rhythm that is appealing to all. My toddler loved it as much as I did and I'm sure that she will appreciate the finer points of the story, including some simple math, as she matures. The illustrations are stunning too! What a wonderful surprise find!!

The simple text and gorgeous graphics are gentle and humorous. Especially great if you studied this time and place in US lit.

Combining 19th Century transcendental philosophy with post-impressionist art movements is no easy feat--and it's even more astonishing in a children's book--but D. B. Johnson's synthesis is a triumph of imagination and talent.

The story illustrates a section of Henry David Thoreau's famous "Waldon Pond," in which the philosopher mused about a hypothetical 30-mile race to Fitchburg. He would walk there, "because I have learned that the swiftest traveler is he that goes afoot." His competitor could travel by train-but would have to earn the 90-cent fare before he could board. Thoreau concludes that he would not only win, but would have the richer experience: "Instead of going to Fitchburg, you will be working here the greater part of the day."

Johnson takes these exact terms and turns it into a race between two bears, Henry (the Thoreau namesake), and his unnamed friend. Already we have an exciting premise for a story, but the first page's relatively traditional illustration gives way to several more unconventional, modern art styles in the succeeding pages. If you're at all a modern art fan, or are just intrigued by it, you'll find these pictures of colored pencil and paint astounding and beautiful. But why did the author/illustrator take this route, when, like Henry's friend, he might have chosen a more predictable style?

Part of the answer, I think, lies in that question itself, the predictable route is the safe one, the utilitarian one, whether for a traveler or for an author wishing to sell books. Like Thoreau, like Frost afterwards, Johnson takes the more unpredictable route, the one offering higher risk and reward. His bear, Henry, enlivens two other transcendental values-- "marching to the beat of a distant drummer" and the disdain for conformity-"the hobgoblin of little minds." Henry's chosen path encompasses more sensation and wonder than that of his friend, and the art opens and illustrates his spirit of discovery. The book's illustrations, as in much of modern art, restates and reconfigures objects in ways that meet the goals of the transcendentalists: To find the transcendental in the ordinary, and the ordinary in the transcendental.

A collection of colorful and unexpected treats inspired by the late 19th and early 20th century greats compliments Johnson's celebration of spontaneity and sensation. We see Picasso and Braques (the almost full-blown of Henry, half-submerged, crossing the river; the elongated noses from Picasso's `Three Women'-though they're more conventional on bears!), Dali surrealism (the henhouse picture with the seemingly giant spoon and the tiny clock), Cezanne' post-impressionist bridge to cubism, Mondrian's blocks of color (the friend painting a fence that divides and frames his features) Rousseau's primitivism, and Matisse's liberating use of color, Asian-inspired aesthetics. It's interesting that Johnson does not limit these styles to the pictures of Henry, they're even in of his friend, earning his fare performing such seemingly mundane tasks as pulling weeds, sweeping the post office, and moving the bookcases ("in Mr. Emerson's study"). At times, for example in the gardening and train pictures, it seems that the friend is discovering the transcendental in the ordinary-Johnson's gift to his fictional bear and to the reader.

A second and more important question (after why Johnson chose this mode of illustration) is whether kids will enjoy the book. I think most of them will: While the pictures are "unusual" (though like the modernists, especially Paul Klee, they emulate young kids' "purer" drawings), the story and the actions are appealing. There's a race-who will win? On his walk to Fitchburg, Henry's senses lead him to eat his way through a blackberry patch, walk on New England's stonewalls, paddle up the Nashua river, and climb a honey tree. His friend engages in such rural activities as bringing water to the cows and wheeling "flour from the mill to the village baker. 20 cents." (Johnson includes lots of money and distance numbers-he even presents the purely educational).

The pictures may confuse some kids, and also delight, inspire, and reinforce them own efforts as well. Pictures aside, the book is exciting, told clearly, appealing to many age groups, and is non-judgmental about the two paths taken by the bear friends. D. B. Johnson's achievement should have received a trunk load of prizes.

Enjoyable on many levels, this is a fun, exciting, and stimulating book. Very highly recommended!

At a class reunion committee meeting, a classmate recommended this book highly for youngsters! We are happy to pass along this recommendation to others! Hopefully, they'll stop and enjoy Fitchburg's natural spots as well as the book!

My grandson, who is six, especially enjoyed the arithmetic lesson in this book, as Henry's friend adds up his earnings steadily. He was also interested in seeing which bear got to Fitchburg first. The illustrations are charming, and the story wears well for repeated reading. As for the references to the Alcotts and Emerson and Henry the Bear's likemindedness with Henry David Thoreau, that's just an extra for adults.

This book is a joy to read, to look at, and to think about. Watch for the illustrated parallels between Henry and his friend's experiences: my favorite is the difference between the tangle of people on the train and the tangled blackberry branches in the field. My children love to find the cows drinking from the Sudbury River, drawn opposite the cows on the town green, whose water Henry's friend brings to them in a bucket.

I can't say enough good things about this amazing book.