HENRY BUILDS A CABIN

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)