November 15, 2015
A portrait of Thoreau as a seminal American philosopher and naturalist, with nearly two dozen projects that will have young readers marching to his beat.Though Smith doesn't suggest that students get arrested and thrown in jail like Thoreau, she does offer other activities that reflect his significant insights and achievements--from keeping a daily journal and gardening to closely examining a simple spoonful of sand or checking out the world from a fresh angle by climbing to a high place. With particular focus on his many wilderness expeditions, she lights her account of his brief life (he died at 44) and his views with the thesis that his enduring significance lies in his rare ability to make what he saw and experienced in his time recognizable to readers of any other. Understanding nonetheless that less-practiced readers may find his style difficult, she enlarges on the many short quotes throughout with a topical table of cogent passages from Walden. Also, with an eye on Common Core standards, she tucks in discussion points such as Thoreau's use of metaphor and simile and draws intellectual connections among Thoreau, his friends, and the politically active women in his own family, not to mention later figures like Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. Utilitarian of format but well organized and with plenty of grist for both minds and hands. (period photos, bibliography, endnotes, index) (Biography. 11-13)
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February 1, 2016
Gr 7 Up-Brother, friend, businessman, abolitionist, naturalist, explorer, activist, transcendentalist: Smith intricately explores the various roles that Henry David Thoreau assumed throughout his lifetime. Although lacking an overall compelling narrative, this offering thoroughly lives up to its title, providing broad and narrow depictions of the man's activities with a strong emphasis on New England. While the volume is peppered with quotes from Thoreau and other famous Concordians, the inclusion of mundane details sometimes results in tedious prose. However, compelling sidebars featuring material on more modern figures, including Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr., and topics such as today's Appalachian Trail, help revitalize the text and make it feel relevant. The suggested activities range in scope from hands-on projects (creating a silhouette art piece) to social activism (volunteering at a local charity organization). Educators seeking a riveting biography should look elsewhere, but this is an excellent example of how nonfiction features work to communicate content. Selections from this book would be useful for teachers attempting to introduce their classes to Thoreau's larger ideas, such as transcendentalism and civil disobedience. VERDICT A useful choice for school and public libraries interested in vamping up their collections on American philosophers.-Mariah Manley, Salt Lake City Public Library
Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
February 1, 2016
Grades 5-8 Henry David Thoreau is best known for meditating on the simple life at Walden Pond and for his stance on civil disobedience. These existential topics do not, at first glance, seem well suited to young readers, but Smith, a tour guide at Thoreau Farm, in Concord, Massachusetts, manages to make them completely accessible though activities that honor Thoreau's most basic tenets. Each chapter starts with biographical information centered on one broad theme (Thoreau's early childhood, his time in nature, his ideas about social causes, etc.). These narratives are followed with a wide array of suggested activities designed to put many of Thoreau's most important values into practice. Readers are encouraged to participate in a variety of exercises, such as studying grains of sand, volunteering with local charities, and making recipes from the nineteenth century. All of the activities encourage kids to unplug and disconnect from the buzz of modern life and express a fundamental belief that no one is too young to begin to appreciate the ideals of Thoreau.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)