HENRY CLIMBS A MOUNTAIN

In his third book about Henry David Thoreau, Johnson describes a more complex concept: how people can change bad laws without fighting. Henry is given the choice of paying his taxes or going to jail. Henry refuses: “Pay a state that lets farmers own slaves? Never!” Henry is incarcerated, and after spending the night in jail, he’s freed, his taxes paid, presumably by someone Henry has befriended. Freedom to Henry “feels like being on top of a very tall mountain!” Johnson’s familiar style of faceted forms, built of angular shapes and warm, natural colors, including multiple perspectives create a visually dynamic story. The bird’s-eye views of Henry in his cell are particularly effective. Johnson in his endnote, writes that Thoreau assisted slaves in fleeing to Canada, and that both Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr. were inspired by Thoreau’s writings. Young readers may not understand concepts of tax protest and slavery, but would welcome reading another story about a familiar and unique character whose deep moral convictions are expressed in simple, daily deeds. (Picture book. 6-9)