Rating: Special Reader
Houghton Mifflin, $16.00, 2009
ISBN: 9780547056630
Age/Grade Level: Ages 6 and up
Incongruous as it may seem for a stylized, airbrushed dog to be a stand-in to intoduce children to the 19th century ideas of Henry David Thoreau, that is what D.B. Johnson has accomplished in a series of picture books of which this is the fifth. Unable to sleep, Henry (Thoreau) takes a moonlit walk in search of the elusive whipporwill. The dimly luminous artwork effectively captures fireflies and other night creatures. Yet overall there is a surreal quality to the story that young people might find confusing rather than illuminating.
Reviewer: Mary Smith, OCPL/El Toro Branch Library
