Henry Builds a Cabin

by D.B. Johnson

Overview

How big does a home really need to be? When Henry decides to build a cabin for himself in the woods, he gets some help and a lot of advice from his friends. But Henry, being Henry, has his own ideas, and he sets about building his house as a bird builds its nest. As he adds everything he thinks his cabin needs, Henry’s new home ends up being a lot bigger than it looks!

Inspired by the life of Henry David Thoreau, and illustrated with nature-filled paintings by author and artist D. B. Johnson, Henry Builds a Cabin is a thoughtful and beautiful meditation on what a home can be.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780618132010
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	02/26/2002
Series:	A Henry Book
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	10.75(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.34(d)
Lexile:	AD590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

D. B. Johnson has been a freelance illustrator for more than twenty years and has done editorial cartoons, comic strips, and conceptual illustrations for magazines and newspapers around the country. Mr. Johnson’s first picture book, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, was a New York Times bestseller and a Publishers Weekly bestseller, as well as an American Bookseller “Pick of the Lists.” Henry Hikes to Fitchburg also won numerous awards, including the Boston Globe–Horn Book Award for Picture Books and the Ezra Jack Keats New Writer Award. Mr. Johnson lives in New Hampshire.
www.henryhikes.com

Editorial Reviews

The Barnes & Noble Review
Thoreau for the kiddie set? Definitely. Author and illustrator D. B. Johnson revives the 19th-century writer's desire to live a simple life with this brilliant picture book starring one determined bear. Henry the bear wants to build a cabin in the woods. As he gathers his materials and begins his project, friends stop by and offer him advice. The small frame of the beams prompts his friend Emerson to observe, "Henry, your cabin looks too small to eat in!" Henry replies, "It's bigger than it looks." He explains that the bean patch behind the cabin shall be his dining room. When his friend Alcott notices it's a bit dark inside the cabin, Henry states that the sunny spot next to the house will be his library. Miss Lydia's remark that there is barely enough room to dance inspires Henry to dance in the curved path to the pond, his "ballroom with a grand stairway." When the cabin is finished, Henry enjoys his dining room and other amenities to the fullest. When a rain shower falls, Henry fits snugly in the walls of his cabin and says, "This is just the room I wear when it's raining!"

Johnson evokes the true sensibility of Thoreau's actions. Enjoying nature and using it's bounties, Henry lives outside of his material world. Young readers will learn that constrictions of the world are only in their minds. Johnson uses colored pencil and paint on paper to illustrate the mighty Henry in the woods. Warm colors and an excellent use of angles and lines allow kids to see Henry's work from various perspectives. Youngsters will love seeing the meditative bear linger around his newly built home, reading in his "library," and eating beans in the "dining" room. The beauty of nature fills every page, from the greenery of the forest to the animals in the woods. Johnson makes every effort to illustrate the joy Henry experiences while living in his cabin.

This creative retelling of one man(bear)'s quest to live in harmony with Mother Earth is sure to inspire young readers to explore and appreciate their very own green ballroom in their own backyard. (Amy Barkat)

bn.com

In an effective retelling of Henry David Thoreau's cabin-building project, Johnson relates with light-hearted humor how Henry builds a cabin barely big enough for himself. As he builds, he is successively questioned by friends about whether it is large enough to eat in, to read in, and to dance in. Each time he replies, "It's bigger [or brighter] than it looks." Each response incorporates natural surroundings and expands his space since he anticipates eating in his bean patch, reading in a sunny spot beside his cabin, and dancing in the front yard. The rhythm of the story is maintained with construction work intermittently detailed between his friends' visits and queries. In the final scene, Henry barely fits in his cabin as he attempts to shelter himself from the rain. "This is just the house I wear when it's raining." Children will find this moment amusing, though younger, more literal readers may wonder as Henry "wears" his small shelter with his limbs sticking out of the windows and floor. Faceted forms are built of angular shapes and warm, natural colors; multiple perspectives fill the scenes, creating a dynamism that energizes the whole. Those who enjoyed Johnson's Henry Hikes to Fitchburg (2000) will delight in the familiar artistic style and reverence for his inspiration as Johnson again successfully conveys Thoreau's love of nature and his desire to immerse himself in the outdoors. The author quotes Thoreau's anecdote in his endnote and includes details about the building of his cabin that provided shelter for his two-year stay at Walden Pond. Readers will be waiting for more of Henry. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

"Johnson's singular illustrations of the changing seasons exhibit the planed surfaces of cubist paintings. Each scene sparkles as if viewed through multifaceted glass." Publishers Weekly, Starred

"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." Booklist, ALA, Starred Review

"Through striking illustrations and a minimum of words...this early lesson illustrates to youngsters that you don't need much to have everything you need." School Library Journal

"Johnson captures Thoreau's rebellious spirit in simple text and lively art." Riverbank Review —

From the Publisher