Henry's Night

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)

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.

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.

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.