Walking With Henry

Title: Walking With Henry
Author & Illustrator : Locker, Thomas
Publisher: Fulcrom Publishing, 2002
Genre: Picture Book, Nonfictional Text
Age Range: 2-3rd grade

Summary: This is a nonfictional text about Henry David Thoreau. The book "walks" the reader through part of Thoreau's life when he just spends time becoming one with nature. Locker relates Thoreau's life to a walking cane he found when he first started his journey.

Response: This would be a good book for younger students, but I did not find that much useful information in it. I visited a few websites to find out more about Thoreau. This is a simple book that could easily introduce Thoreau to small children, but I think there could be a better way to approach doing so with older kids. The thing that caught my eye about this book is the gorgeous pictures and use of color. I could see Thoreau enjoying this. Locker does an amazing job of portraying him and nature.

Teaching Ideas: Like I said before, I think this would be a great book to introduce American poets and/or Thoreau to young children. I guess it could work for older children, but as a teacher you would need to supply more information.

-jeana