Henry Climbs a Mountain

This is the third and most bold of D.B. Johnson's series of children's picture books depicting an eccentric bear named Henry to imaginatively reconstruct elements from Henry David Thoreau's life. The illustrations are colorful and playful and evocative, and the story is told with a simplicity that Thoreau himself would admire. The story combines an account of Thoreau's night in jail (as a result of his refusal to pay taxes to a country that would support slavery and an unjust war in Mexico) with his encounter with a wilderness so wild it frightened him on the top of Mount Katahdin in Maine. It is a brilliant combination, that reminds those who know about Thoreau of the connection between his political engagements and his personal explorations, and that suggests to newcomers that freedom is not what you are given by your government but something you achieve by standing up for what is right. It is scary and involves personal risk, but can change the world. I highly recommend this book.

My brother bought my new born son all of the Henry books as a 'welcome to the world' present. They've been his favorites since we began reading story books to him. He'll turn three this week and I just read all four in succession at bedtime, at his request. I worried that '...Climbs a Mountain" would be beyond my toddler's comprehension and that it would provoke a slew of questions that I could not find age appropriate answers for. But, it isn't and it hasn't. My son is capable of understanding the concepts of sharing and helping (Henry giving his shoes to a runaway slave). Learning to wait and do without is another concept touched on in the book that is a current life issue for my child. Finding objects and animals in Johnson's cubist-meets-WPA-muralistic styled drawings is my child's favorite approach to taking in this book. Following Henry over the mountain as he draws it, is reminiscent of "Harold and the Purple Crayon," too. Unlike another reviewer who felt the drawings were too complicated for preschoolers- I think they are great! We have exposed our kid to great works of art in person and in books since his eye sight developed enough to be able to take it all in and have no doubt that he is able to do just that. As for me, I love the life lessons for children in an age of extreme indulgences.

You laughed as you read, "Henry Goes To Fitchburg". You gasped as you read, "Henry Builds a Cabin". And now comes the boldest addition to the Henry series yet. In true Thoreauian fashion (life's too short not to write the word, "Thoreauian" once in a while) Henry's back and he's mad. Mad at the state for legalizing slavery, that is. Adding yet another title to his Henry-David-Thoreau-as-portrayed-by-bear series, author D.B. Johnson serves up his tightest Henry tale to date. The book is a gutsy (and, some might say, timely) tale of disrespecting an immoral authority. One day, Henry the bear decides to go mountain climbing. Trouble is, he seems to have only one shoe (the other being fixed at the local shoemaker's). So, one-footed Henry decides to visit the shoemaker and get his article of clothing back. While in town, he meets up with Sam the tax collector. Sam asks Henry why he hasn't paid his taxes. "Pay a state that lets farmers own slaves? Never!". So it's off to the clinker for Henry. While there, he removes some crayons from his pocket and begins to draw on the wall. First he draws a second shoe. Then flowers. Then a path, and a river, and finally the mountain Henry wanted to climb in the first place. Reaching the top (for he has now created his own reality) he meets a traveler escaping North. Suffice to say, by the end of the story Henry has given away his shoes and, since someone else has paid his taxes, he bids adieu to the city jail. When asked how it feels to be free he responds, "It feels like being on top of a very tall mountain". And off he goes. The book draws on a passage of Thoreau's, detailing a similar incident from his life. Some may contest whether Thoreau was jailed for not paying taxes because he objected to slavery or because he objected to supporting the Mexican War. The passage quoted in the book says, "...I was seized and put into jail, because I did not pay a tax to, or recognize the authority of, the state which buys and sells men, women, and children, like cattle at the door of its senate-house". Seems pretty clear to me. Johnson turns this simple story into a topsy-turvy through the looking glass kind of adventure. What Henry draws becomes real, and it is this post-modern aspect of the tale that makes it just a hair better than most books that cover similar subjects (civil disobedience and the like). But as always, the real glory here goes to the illustrations. And what illustrations these are. As always, Johnson's style of choice is pseudo-cubism. But it's the little details that I especially like. The mouse that lives with Henry in the jail and that escapes with him at the end. The ads for runaway slaves that pepper the walls of buildings. And the woodland creatures are especially nice. Everything from timid skunks to chubby chickadees. You would have a hard time finding fault with such lovely lithesome pictures. To sum up: Good story. Good writing. Good illustrations.

Nearly every page of this story contains a passage to a thoughtful conversation with your child. The story is based on an incident from the life of Henry David Thoreau. Henry the bear is missing a shoe, and is on his way to the cobbler when he is stopped by the taxman and must spend a night in jail because he didn't pay. In the jail cell, Henry starts to draw on the walls and gets lost on his creative landscape, hiking up a mountain he created and meeting a friend. It is a beautiful, simple story that will provoke thoughtful questions. There is, for instance, an act of civil disobedience and its consequence. The breadth and power of imagination is also an important theme. A turning point in the story follows an act of generosity. Again, it is an entertaining story that may give you and a young reader lots to talk about together and for that it is highly recommended.

As the third of this illustrator's riffs on themes from Thoreau (this time, a take on HDT's famous night in jail), "Henry Climbs a Mountain" is not immediately as satisfying as the first two ("Henry Hikes to Fitchburg" and "Henry Builds a Cabin"). The illustrations have lost some of the joy that distinguishes the first two books. The colors seem more subdued and the scenes less captivating. (One picture in particular, where Henry begins to imagine his way into the jail-cell wall, is positively awkward.) That said, "Henry Climbs" is the most resonant of the three. For a book of some thirty-two pages, there's a lot going on here: a "Harold and the Purple Crayon"-like meditation on art and creativity; a parable on freedom and slavery; even a comment (I think) on compassion and interconnectedness. It's no wonder this book isn't as fun as the first two! But it's still far from somber. Johnson's insertion of small creatures throughout, especially Henry's fellow cellmate (a mouse), brightens the mood considerably, and the whole book ends on a two-page spread that's appropriately vernal in its color and hope. The Henry who stopped for blueberries on the way to Fitchburg and still arrived in time for a moonlight sit with his friend has changed. (I'd say he's not just for kids anymore, but then, he never really was.) It's good, though, to see this bear growing up just a little. One misses the ecstatic illustrations of "Fitchburg" and "Cabin," but I think "Climbs" will stick with the reader longer. This is one of the most intelligent picture books of the year--a worthy successor to Johnson's first two books and, like the others, a wonderful way to re-energize even a jaded adult's fondness for Thoreau.