Customer Reviews

Henry's Night

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Not only is this book beautiful and fun -- like all D.B. Johnson's and Linda Michelin's books -- it's also deeply moving. On first reading it's a nighttime quest through the forest looking for an elusive bird. And what kid hasn't fantasized about crawling out of bed at night and exploring the woods?! On second reading I was struck by how profound the message was: Although the call of your SOUL may be hard to hear at times, following it with an adventurous spirit will lead you to breathtaking sights and *true* happiness. Ah, Henry, you are a messenger for our times! Thank you, D.B. Johnson and Linda Michelin, for giving our kids (and US) a Thoreau who is political, passionate, playful, and now...mystical.

Of course, you'd expect 5 stars from the author, but don't take my word for it--Here's the starred review from Kirkus, March 2009:
*Johnson, D.B. and Linda Michelin HENRY'S NIGHT
Ilustrated by D.B. Johnson
From Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (2000) on, Johnson has surpassed all conventional biographers in presenting Thoreau's philosophy and spirit in ways that will make sense to younger readers. Here, in the series's fifth outing, he and co-author Michelin wax a bit more poetic and oblique, pairing a present-tense, free-verse journal entry to atmospherically dim scenes of the narrator (or rather, his ursine stand-in) walking, and later floating, through clouds of fireflies and cubist glimmers of rain and moonlight. Unable to sleep one birthday evening, Thoreau slips out of his bedroom and into the branches of a beech tree in hopes of finding an elusive whippoorwill. His search continues into the woods and then onto a clouded lake ("White fog spreads wide-- / it rolls from edge to edge / of all I see. / How will I get home? / I make a raft of branches...") where the night bird comes to him, perching on his head and, later, as morning brightens, singing him to sleep. A great bedtime read, as mysterious and thought-provoking as a zen koan. (Picture book. 6-10, adult)

We love all the Henry series, but this one has become my 4-yr-old son's favorite. He loves the fireflies. I'm always amazed by authors who can combine an entertaining children's story with an underlying message, and that's what D.B. Johnson has done in all the Henry books.

I cherish every one of D. B. Johnson's peerless "Henry" books and am very happy to see him in action again. Johnson's wonderful bear-avatar of Henry David Thoreau takes a dream-like walk through the night woods he explored by day in Henry Works--a night full of wonder and mystery but no scares. There is a soft-edged glow to Johnson's beautiful illustrations, giving us the gold of the going-down sun, lightning bugs in a jar and the full moon shining through trees. The harder edges and bright colors of the earlier Henry books are softened and muted throughout, capturing mist, moonlight and cloud. A welcome addition to my little stack of "Henry" books. I recommend, of course, buying them all.

Mr. Johnson and Ms. Michelin have done a fantastic job incorporating nature into this book and making it a good adventure as well. It doesn't drag out long but keeps moving at a great pace. I loved being able to spot the creatures that were on the side of the page in the picture. It was a very participatory book. The pictures were gorgeous and only helped the story come to life even more. This is one good illustrator.

My son kept asking me questions about each animal. It was a lot of fun to read. The fact that it is inspired by Henry David Thoreau made it even more fun for me. I have studied some of his work and found this book extremely fascinating and a good way to start looking at the world around us. I definitely recommend this book to any nature lover who is around children. This is a good book to use in the classroom as well. Henry is a great bear and I would love to read more of his adventures.

Full Disclosure: D.B. Johnson is a friend of mine. We have coffee at our favorite hangout once a week or so. That said, let me objectively state that Johnson has "re-imagined" one of our country's greatest philosophers and presented Henry David Thoreau's most important messages to our children in five books (so far) that are as beautiful, well written, and timely as any collection of picture books one could imagine.

Thoreau's lessons about how to live the good life are charmingly conveyed without a hint of didacticism. Henry's Night, the latest, is a dreamy bedtime story that immerses the reader in nature, a nature that has never been more threatened than it is today, a nature we cannot live without. For the evocative text in this Henry volume, Johnson was most ably assisted by Linda Michelin.

The artistic style Johnson displays over the five books is as unique as any artist's working today and is perfectly attuned to his subject matter. Why the Caldecott committee has failed to acknowledge this so far is a mystery to me.

Be sure to have a look at the video Johnson produced for Henry's Night. It is on YouTube.

D.B. Johnson and Linda Michelin's HENRY'S NIGHT tells of a boy who is seeking the whippoorwill, the bird nobody ever sees. Each time he draws near the bird stops singing and flees - where will it lead him? Moonlight comes to life in this gentle nature story told in the first-person.

We have all of the "Henry" Books by DB Johnson. I absolutely love his illustrations, and this book, which is co-written by his wife, is easily my favorite of them all. It is a magical journey through nature, filled with poetic descriptions of Henry's quest for the night bird. Lovely.

All the Henry books are wonderful stories about Henry David Thoreau, told with Henry being a bear. This one is the only one told in first person, which is unusual for a children's story, but very nicely done. The illustrations are beautiful, and the story is engaging.