Synopses & Reviews
In 1845 in Concord, Massachusetts, Henry David Thoreau began a radical experiment: he built a cabin in the woods and lived there, alone, examining the world around him. He spent his days walking the shores of Walden Pond, growing beans, observing plants and animals, and recording his reflections in his notebook. These reflections eventually became his seminal work Walden.
In this lovely picture book, Robert Burleigh and Wendell Minor imagine a special day spent with the celebrated writer and naturalist through the eyes of a child. Together Thoreau and the young boy watch small but significant wonders such as swimming fish, fighting ants, and clouds in the sky. It is a day full of splendor and appreciation of the outdoor world.
Review
"Evocative prose replete with memorable images gives readers a childs-eye view of Thoreaus days..."--Kirkus
Praise for Abraham Lincoln Comes Home:
“Lincolns funeral train took 13 days between Washington, D.C., and Springfield, Ill., and drew 30 million mourners along the way. Abraham Lincoln Comes Home by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor, poignantly imagines a father and son paying their respects on the prairie.” —USA Today
“Moving prose and dramatic night scenes show them as part of a grieving yet grateful nation, paying homage to a fallen hero.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“This quiet, lovely book sensitively communicates a sense of the magnitude of loss felt by so many.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A moving portrait of a cultural moment, before the age of 24/7 electronic media, when tribute was paid to the slain president by those who turned out to see the train pass. Text and pictures convey the watchers sense of solemnity.” —Chicago Tribune
Praise for Wendell Minors art in The Last Train:
“Minors luminous, occasionally almost photographic, paintings portray the adult narrator as a boy, surrounded by a ghostly haze as he walks along the tracks. . . . Theres little doubt that railroad aficionados will pore over the crisply rendered railroad memorabilia.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
“…a glimpse of Thoreaus philosophy that young children can understand.”--School Library Journal
"Evocative prose replete with memorable images gives readers a childs-eye view of Thoreaus days..."--Kirkus
Praise for Abraham Lincoln Comes Home:
“Lincolns funeral train took 13 days between Washington, D.C., and Springfield, Ill., and drew 30 million mourners along the way. Abraham Lincoln Comes Home by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor, poignantly imagines a father and son paying their respects on the prairie.” —USA Today
“Moving prose and dramatic night scenes show them as part of a grieving yet grateful nation, paying homage to a fallen hero.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“This quiet, lovely book sensitively communicates a sense of the magnitude of loss felt by so many.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A moving portrait of a cultural moment, before the age of 24/7 electronic media, when tribute was paid to the slain president by those who turned out to see the train pass. Text and pictures convey the watchers sense of solemnity.” —Chicago Tribune
Praise for Wendell Minors art in The Last Train:
“Minors luminous, occasionally almost photographic, paintings portray the adult narrator as a boy, surrounded by a ghostly haze as he walks along the tracks. . . . Theres little doubt that railroad aficionados will pore over the crisply rendered railroad memorabilia.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
Review
From The Boston Globe:
Minors sweet, verdant watercolors shine in this tale of a straw-hatted old-fashioned Thoreau spending a day with a contemporary boy (complete with running sneakers) by the shores of his beloved Walden Pond. Burleigh interprets Thoreaus own words to create the imaginary day. Henry “wakes with the sun,” Burleigh tells us. His tiny house contains “nothing but three chairs, a table, a desk, and an old bed. Yet Henry has just what he needs.” Together the two friends row, walk, and weed. They recognize the calls of various birds, wade in Sandy Pond, study ants at war. Now and then, Thoreaus own voice sings out: “I like to make the earth say ‘beans instead of ‘grass. ” Admittedly, the book takes a soft view of this flinty figure. (“If you spent a day with Henry David Thoreau, you would hike past Fair Haven Hill, where the huckleberries grow . . . Yum!” But as a young childs introduction to the thoughts and work of Thoreau, this captures many essentials. “Simplicity, simplicity, simplicity,” Henry wrote 150 years ago. Its still good advice for makers of picture books.
"Burleigh and Minor (the team behind Night Flight and other historical profiles) focus on the unconventional way Thoreau uses language ('From here the pond is like a wide-open eye staring up at the sky'), the magic of everyday observation, and the implicit anticonsumerist message of his pared-down life."--Publishers Weekly
“…a glimpse of Thoreaus philosophy that young children can understand.”--School Library Journal
"Evocative prose replete with memorable images gives readers a childs-eye view of Thoreaus days..."--Kirkus
"A solid introduction to someone kids should know." -- Booklist
Praise for Abraham Lincoln Comes Home:
“Lincolns funeral train took 13 days between Washington, D.C., and Springfield, Ill., and drew 30 million mourners along the way. Abraham Lincoln Comes Home by Robert Burleigh, illustrated by Wendell Minor, poignantly imagines a father and son paying their respects on the prairie.” —USA Today
“Moving prose and dramatic night scenes show them as part of a grieving yet grateful nation, paying homage to a fallen hero.” —San Francisco Chronicle
“This quiet, lovely book sensitively communicates a sense of the magnitude of loss felt by so many.” —Kirkus Reviews
“A moving portrait of a cultural moment, before the age of 24/7 electronic media, when tribute was paid to the slain president by those who turned out to see the train pass. Text and pictures convey the watchers sense of solemnity.” —Chicago Tribune
Praise for Wendell Minors art in The Last Train:
“Minors luminous, occasionally almost photographic, paintings portray the adult narrator as a boy, surrounded by a ghostly haze as he walks along the tracks. . . . Theres little doubt that railroad aficionados will pore over the crisply rendered railroad memorabilia.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review
About the Author
Robert Burleigh has written many childrens picture books, including three illustrated by Wendell Minor: Abe Lincoln Comes Home, Into the Woods, and Night Flight. The recipient of the Prairie State Award, naming him Illinois Childrens Book Author of the Year for 2011, Bob splits his time between Grand Haven, Michigan, and Chicago. robertburleigh.com
Wendell Minor is the illustrator of many award-winning picture books for children, including the New York Times-bestselling Reaching for the Moon, by Buzz Aldrin, and Ghost Ship by Mary Higgins Clark, as well as numerous nature books by Jean Craighead George. Mr. Minor is also the illustrator of Robert Burleighs Abraham Lincoln Comes Home and Gordon M. Titcombs The Last Train. He lives in Washington, Connecticut. minorart.com.