A Mind with Wings: The Story of Henry David Thoreau [Hardcover]

Gerald Hausman (Author), Loretta Hausman (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 11, 2006 | Age Level: 10 and up | Grade Level: 5 and up

It's July 4, 1845. A soft-spoken young man named Henry David Thoreau has carefully constructed a small, simple cabin in the woods overlooking Walden Pond. For the next two years, his closest companions will be the chickadees, the woodchucks, and the quiet pines of the Walden Woods.

Henry is twenty-eight years old, and his life has not been easy. His brother John—his closest friend and companion—has died. The only woman he ever loved has rejected him. On this day he has come to Walden in search of truth—not the truth taught in schools or in church, but the truth he can feel dwelling deep within him.

Henry opens his journal and begins to write:

    I went to the woods because I wished to
    live deliberately, to front only the essential
    facts of life, and see if I could not
    learn what it had to teach, and not,
    when I came to die, discover that I had not lived.

Follow Henry into the woods and out again—through a courageous American life that has changed our world for the better.

For ages 12 and up.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 5-8–This well-researched novel expertly captures Thoreaus character and life in mid-19th-century Massachusetts. Despite frequent bouts with tuberculosis, the man who lived for two years in Walden woods introduced innovations to his familys pencil business, ran a school with his brother, and went on hiking and boating expeditions. His integrity was remarkable, as evidenced when he helped fugitive slaves or spent a night in jail over a point of principle. For much of his life, Thoreau wandered seemingly without direction, but, when viewed as a whole, his life was spent developing a personal philosophy. This book makes clear that Thoreau was the product of both a loving, supportive family and New Englands Transcendentalist movement. Though at times the dialogue seems stilted and overly philosophical, careful readers will have much to mull over, and they will savor the adventures of this great American thinker. Its a quick inspirational read for budding naturalists or for those who feel as though they dont fit into their own time and place.–Christina Stenson-Carey, Albany Public Library, NY
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Gr. 6-9. The Hausmans introduce the life of Henry David Thoreau in a series of short, anecdotal chapters, each centered on one, often small event in the writer's life. The authors frequently use dialogue in their accounts; however, as they explain in their introduction, the "dialogue is crafted out of Henry's own statements." Overall, their approach helps to paint a vivid portrait of Thoreau and his quirky, highly original mind, although in the midst of all the anecdotes, Thoreau the writer and his contributions to American letters get somewhat lost. More direct quotes from his writing and more information on the tremendous influence that Walden had after his death would have helped fill out the picture. Young readers, however, will appreciate the attempt to make Thoreau a compelling figure and not a dusty name from the past. Jim Murphy's Into the Deep Forest with Henry David Thoreau (1995) would make a handsome companion title. Todd Morning
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 10 and up
  
• Hardcover: 160 pages
• Publisher: Trumpeter (April 11, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1590302281
• ISBN-13: 978-1590302286
• Product Dimensions: 8.6 x 0.8 x 5.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,622,735 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

I am an inveterate storyteller, which is to say: I love to do it, am helpless not to do it, and I do it all the time, even when I am by myself there is an inner monologue going on in my head. This habit of privately roving around in the land of legends is something I've done for as long as I can remember. My mom worried about me when she saw that I spent too much time by myself. I would creep into a closet and close the door and in the silence of the darkness I would spin tales of all kinds. I was never lonely as a kid because I had the imagination of a wild thing, and I was content to play in the fields and valleys and secret caves of that imaginary world.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reintroducing a Great Man, May 16, 2006

By 

Fred Burstein (Kerhonkson, NY USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Mind with Wings: The Story of Henry David Thoreau (Hardcover)

I read some of A Mind with Wings every night for a week to stretch it out. I enjoyed every minute of it. Thoreau has so much life to him in this book. The Hausmans chose just the right places to meet him and just the right tone for him to speak to us, grown ups and kids alike. And I learned a heck of a lot. I never knew so many of the things that were in the book; things it gave me pleasure to learn. I always loved HDT, but he seemed kind of old and dead in my mind. In this story he was young and lively and friendly. I hope this book introduces this man, who started nonviolent revolution and was a fearless abolitionist, to today's younger students. As a middle school teacher, I will bring this book into my class so my children can meet HDT in a way that they will think of him as a friend.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Lively fiction and thorough research reveals Thoreau's life and personality, May 16, 2006

By 

ital art (Miami, Florida) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Mind with Wings: The Story of Henry David Thoreau (Hardcover)

The portrait of Henry David Thoreau written in "A Mind With Wings" is so good that I wanted to read Walden Pond again. The authors have done a great job of researching each detail and made this reclusive author turn into a real, warm-bodied human being whose writing is ever more accessible to me. I hope a great many others will also enjoy this new perspective of a great author.

4.0 out of 5 stars The Spirit of America, January 9, 2008

By 

J. Williams "J. E. Williams, OMD" (Sarasota, FL USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Mind with Wings: The Story of Henry David Thoreau (Hardcover)

There is no other single person who represents the spirit of America's environmental and creative consciousness movement as does Henry David Thoreau. The Hausma's have done a considerable service of introducing the great man to children and young people and in an accessable manner. Let us all be reminded of the importance of nature.