Henry Climbs a Mountain (A Henry Book) - Hardcover

Johnson, D.B.

4.07

211 ratings by Goodreads

9780618269020: Henry Climbs a Mountain (A Henry Book)

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0618269029 ISBN 13: 9780618269020

Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers, 2003

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Henry wants to climb a mountain, and nothing is going to stop him. Then Sam, the tax collector, puts him in jail for not paying his taxes. Henry refuses to pay to a state that allows slavery. But being locked up doesn’t stop Henry. He still gets to splash in rivers, swing from trees, and meet a stranger. This bear, modeled on the real Henry David Thoreau, roams free.

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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 and his wife, Linda, live in New Hampshire.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 1-3-In his third book based on the works of Henry David Thoreau, Johnson tackles the writer's philosophy on civil disobedience. Feeling the yen for a mountain hike, Henry the bear sets off to retrieve one of his shoes from the cobbler. But before he can pick it up, he is jailed for nonpayment of taxes. While there, Henry uses crayons and his imagination to create for himself a new shoe, trees, and a mountain path to explore. At the top of his imaginary mountain, he meets an unnamed, barefoot traveler. Although the stranger's comments indicate that he is an escaped slave seeking freedom, his fur is the same color as Henry's-they are, after all, both bears. Henry gives the traveler his shoes and best wishes, then returns barefoot to his cell. Despite dealing with complex themes, Johnson's text does a fine job of explaining the essential conflicts without oversimplifying them. The colored-pencil-and-paint illustrations, filled with stylized, geometric forms, incorporate natural and historical details, such as posters offering rewards for the return of escaped slaves. Notes at the end offer more information about Thoreau and his writings, which explain the story's origins and deeper themes. Children will also enjoy the book as a tale of triumphant imagination akin to Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon (1955) or Maurice Sendak's Where the Wild Things Are (1988, both HarperCollins). Fans of Henry's first two adventures will welcome this title, as will adults seeking to begin discussions on ethical behavior or human rights.
Eve Ortega, Cypress Library, CA
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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