Henry Builds a Cabin

Starred review from February 4, 2002
This worthy sequel to Henry Hikes to Fitchburg
rewards repeat visits and inspires a joyful respect for nature. Johnson again conjures the practical spirit of Thoreau and venerates simple living. Walden's chapter on "Economy," complete with a budgeted list of building materials, generates the tale of Henry, a patient bear outfitted in a broad-brimmed farm hat and an outdoorsman's warm clothes. In early spring, with heaps of snow melting on the forest floor, Henry diagrams his dream house, a one-room cabin. "He borrow an ax and cut down twelve trees," hews the pine logs into thick posts for the cabin's frame, and constructs his walls from the weathered boards and windows of "an old shed." His thrifty ways and careful measurements indicate his conservationist approach, and his steady progress could inspire a present-day building project. When friends like Emerson and Alcott pronounce the cabin "too small," Henry replies, "It's bigger than it looks." He proudly guides them to a vegetable garden ("This will be my dining room") and a winding path to the pond ("This will be the ballroom"). The conclusion finds Henry happily lolling outdoors in his "library," resting his feet on the windowsill; he gets under his roof only when it rains. Johnson's singular illustrations of the changing seasons exhibit the planed surfaces of cubist paintings. Each scene sparkles as if viewed through multifaceted glass, and eagle-eyed readers will spot New England species like jays, kingfishers, foxes and red squirrels darting around the peripheries. Ages 4-8.

March 1, 2002
PreS-Gr 2-Through striking illustrations and a minimum of words, Johnson, the author/illustrator of Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (Houghton, 2000), offers another chapter in the life of nature-lover Henry David Thoreau. Revealing a fine sense of economy, Thoreau (in the form of a bear) builds a cabin with room for only the essentials: a bed, a table, a desk, and three chairs. He purchases used materials to save money and incorporates the outdoors as an extension of his living space: a sunny spot nearby becomes his library and the vegetable garden is his dining room. The remarkable, quirky, and somewhat kaleidoscopic pictures depict the building's progress from drawing plans to finished cabin. The colored-pencil and paint illustrations follow the story line in fascinating detail. The tale's end finds the bear rushing through a summer rain to the shelter of his perfectly sized home. Thoreau's appreciation for nature is highlighted in the depiction of trees, pond, and rolling hills, while a wide array of animals is seen in the background. This early lesson illustrates to youngsters that you don't need much to have everything you need.-Maryann H. Owen, Racine Public Library, WI

Copyright 2002 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 15, 2002
Ages 4-8. Henry, the affable bear in " Henry Hikes to Fitchburg" (2000), hears some advice from his friends as he builds a small cabin near the pond. Emerson opines that the space is too compact to eat in. Alcott says it's too dark to read in, and Miss Lydia judges it too small for dancing. Each time, Henry pronounces it "bigger than it looks," and leads his friends to an outdoor space nearby: a garden for eating, a sunny spot for reading, and a hillside path for dancing. One day, as Henry is enjoying his outside eating, reading, and dancing spaces, a rainstorm sends him running for the cabin, which he calls "just the room I wear when it's raining." This novel way of looking at living space--outdoors as well as in--will appeal to children's sense of logic, which often defies convention. Well balanced structurally and excellent for reading aloud, the text offers a new outlook as well as a good story. The artwork, created with colored pencils and paint, is as unconventional yet comprehensible as Henry's philosophy of housing. Subtle patterns on overlapping planes enrich the pictures, which glow with warm, spring colors. On the final page, a note discusses how Henry David Thoreau built his cabin at Walden Pond. An unusually fine sequel.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2002, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2002
As in "Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, " Johnson shows why Thoreau is an American icon. He uses a well-known episode in Thoreau's life--his construction of a cabin near Walden Pond. The illustrations are geometric in feeling; the sturdiness of the designs is echoed in the sturdiness of the main character (depicted as a bear). A brief note focusing on the cabin, with a sidebar of Thoreau's cost and materials analysis, is appended.

(Copyright 2002 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)