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32 pp.
| Houghton
| April, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-547-55864-6$16.99
(3)
K-3
After purchasing a bowler hat, artist Magritte (here a dog in a suit) finds that it has a mind of its own: it floats, hides, etc., inspiring the painter's best work. An author's note on the real René Magritte's art helps elucidate the ingenious concept; a few transparent overlays alter pictures with each turn, further demonstrating the imaginative principles of surrealism.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| May, 2010
|
TradeISBN 978-0-547-23999-6$17.00
(4)
K-3
In this riff on Escher's Relativity, a master builder's apprentice rotates the master's drawing; the next day confused workers are walking on ceilings and walls. Many of Johnson's busy sepia illustrations are purposefully confusing, meant to be viewed right side up and upside down, as is the book itself. Johnson has fun with optical tricks; one large plot hole is unfortunate.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| April, 2009
|
TradeISBN 978-0-547-05663-0$16.00
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
D. B. Johnson.
In Johnson's fifth Henry Bear book, the Henry David Thoreau stand-in writes about his nighttime quest to find the whippoorwill ("Are you the one who sings / the song of night?"). The Walden-inspired text is poetic; fans of Henry's more concrete previous adventures may find it somewhat opaque. Johnson's signature gauzy mixed-media art takes on a dreamlike appearance.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| September, 2007
|
TradeISBN 978-0-618-80909-7$16.00
(3)
K-3
Pig Orvie, who walks on two legs and whose motto is "4 legs bad, 2 legs good," lazes around while others toil. Duck gets the animals to work collectively, proving "18 legs best!" The story, which resembles Farmer Duck, also has elements of Animal Farm. Johnson's mixed-media illustrations, using panels and word balloons, effectively contrast soft colors with blocky shapes.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| September, 2004
|
TradeISBN 0-618-42003-7$15.00
(2)
K-3
In this fourth book about the amiable bear who stands in so capably for Thoreau, Henry spends a seemingly aimless yet productive day walking around Concord; in response to frequent queries, he says he's "walking to work." Readers will see that his walk, work, and writing are all one. The illustrations here are again both handsome and a graphic tour de force.
Reviewer: Joanna Rudge Long
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2004
32 pp.
| Houghton
| September, 2003
|
TradeISBN 0-618-26902-9$$15.00
(3)
K-3
When Henry the bear refuses to pay his taxes because they support slavery, he is sent to jail. On the blank walls he draws trees, birds, flowers, even a mountain, which he climbs and atop which he helps an escaping slave by giving him his shoes. Johnson's engaging cubist-like illustrations expertly blend reality with fantasy in his third book about Henry, based on Henry David Thoreau's life and writing.
32 pp.
| Houghton
| March, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-618-13201-5$$15.00
(2)
K-3
As in Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, Johnson shows why Thoreau is an American icon. He uses a well-known episode in Thoreau's life--his construction of a cabin near Walden Pond. The illustrations are geometric in feeling; the sturdiness of the designs is echoed in the sturdiness of the main character (depicted as a bear). A brief note focusing on the cabin, with a sidebar of Thoreau's cost and materials analysis, is appended.
Reviewer: Mary M. Burns
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2002
32 pp.
| Houghton
| April, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-395-96867-4$$15.00
(2)
K-3
In this book, inspired by a passage in Walden, Henry and his friend are two bears who want to go to Fitchburg. Henry sets out on foot, and along the way he makes a walking stick, collects wildflowers, and finds a birds' nest. His friend labors until he has earned the money for a train ticket. The message is pure Thoreau: Henry has had by far the more valuable and rewarding journey. Nattily dressed bears inhabit nineteenth-century scenes in the stylized illustrations.