Customer Reviews

Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute

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The other evening I descended my stairs to find my husband snuggled on the couch with a picture book and my 3 year old son, reading. This is not unusual. What was unusual was that my thirteen year old daughter sat with them listening intently as well. The book, not surprisingly, was Louisa May and Mr. Thoreaus Flute.
It is a well woven story of inspiration and the search for authentic self. The illustrations have a distinctly natural appeal that defers to the passion of Thoreau very well. They absorbed my youngest. The story and the words are engaging and inspiring enough for my eldest, a big fan of Little Women. It is a lovely book to share with your young creatives.

The childhood of Louisa May Alcott is surely a subject to fascinate young readers. While many recognize her as the author of the classic "Little Women," few may know that she also penned a poem, "Thoreau's Flute," a mournful tribute to her childhood friend, Henry Thoreau. In her verse she laments that "The genius of the wood is lost."

Louisa, very much like Thoreau, was drawn to nature. She wrote as a child and her authorial skills bloomed under the tutelage of her proud parents. Nonetheless, she found time to run off to the concord woods where Thoreau had built a hut, and Louisa said that she felt closest to God.

The Walden Pond area was often visited by Louisa and her sisters who enjoyed picnicking near the water and rowing on the Pond.

This story of a young girl's friendship with a kindred soul is beautifully illustrated with woodcuts, apt companions for a tale emphasizing individual realization and nature's bounty.

- Gail Cooke