Into the Deep Forest: With Henry David Thoreau

A five-page introductory biography of Henry David Thoreau is followed by the main feature: 14 double-page spreads representing Thoreau's trips to Maine. For the sake of this account, several excursions have been combined into one encompassing experience. We travel along as Henry and his companions paddle and portage their canoes through the wilderness. We share in their impressions of moose and the other wildlife they encounter. (The real-life hunting and killing of the moose has been thoughtfully deleted from this re-telling.) Henry's ultimate goal of climbing to the top of Mount Katahdin is realized by the end of the narrative. Kiesler's paintings and sketches accompany well the text that Murphy has created from Thoreau's writing. This version is laid out in picture book style and is just as accessible for adults as it is for children. Consider it "The Maine Woods," illustrated and abridged.