In his satisfying fourth book about Henry David Thoreau's life, which appears on the 150th anniversary of the publication of <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Walden, Johnson describes how Henry the bear walks to work. On a "misty, mizzling morning," Henry claps on his broad-brimmed hat and trots out the door expectantly. He stops to dig some comfrey root but declines a friend's offer to go fishing: "Not today. I'm walking to work." Along the pebbly dirt road, Henry waters some milkweed and "pushes three crossing stones into place" in an ankle-deep stream. Upon reaching Concord, Mass.—a red, gold and lavender-blue New England town, bustling with horse-drawn carriages and an oxcart—he gives the comfrey root to the postmaster as a salve for an aching foot, and promises to deliver a letter to his neighbor Emerson. Johnson creates multifaceted illustrations that suggest Cubist stained-glass windows; Henry's outdoorsman's coat looks like fuzzy felt in the colored pencil and paint spreads, and its dark orange hue complements the powdery blue-and-slate sky and variegated green woodlands. Naturalists can spy a variety of New England birds and animals (flickers, chickadees, woodchucks), while literary types can track Henry's visits to the Alcott and Hawthorne residences on the endpaper map of the Walden area. After wondering when Henry will get to his job, readers will realize that Henry's helpful, practical deeds must be inextricable from his "work." With a quiet humor and attention to natural settings, Johnson respectfully conveys Thoreau's philosophy of simplicity. Ages 4-8. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(Sept.)

The fourth volume in a series of Thoreau-inspired picture books features Henry the bear "walking to work." Though unemployed in the traditional sense, he finds plenty of useful things to do, helping his neighbors and his environment, as he follows a circuitous path by the pond, through the woods, into the town of Concord. Back home at last, he gets to work writing about his ramble. Though the story here is less focused than in the previous books, fans of the series will happily follow the amiable bear as he ambles the countryside. The book ends with a page of information about Henry David Thoreau's life and work. As in the previous books, Johnson's distinctive artwork, which uses geometric shapes to strong effect, greatly enhances the experience of any child hearing the book read aloud. Though unconventional in approach, these beautiful illustrations are entirely accessible to children. Recommended for libraries in which the earlier books have a following.

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.

Johnson adds new, rich meaning to a common phrase in his fourth Thoreau-esque episode. Responding to questioning neighbors that he's "walking to work," Henry strolls in a loop (mapped out on the endpapers) from Walden Pond to Concord and back. He gathers herbs and berries along the way, arranges stepping stones across a creek, delivers a letter as a favor, waters wildflowers, plants wild strawberries in a neighbor's garden, watches the weather, and then sits down at last to write, "Today I took a walk in the woods." Despite a bit of magical realism when Henry gets the groundhogs that are ravaging Emerson's garden to jump into his pocket by tootling his flute, this slice-of-life portrait of a person attuned to, and comfortable in, the entire world around him never comes off as arty or artificial. Nor, though Johnson substitutes clothed bears for humans and paints in a cubist style, do his illustrations. Again, an unassuming, deeply affecting tribute to an essential philosopher and writer. (afterword) (Picture book. 7-9)

PreS-Gr 3-In his fourth and finest story about a bear modeled after Henry David Thoreau, Johnson successfully conveys the writer's idea of "real work." In the morning, Henry steps outside and decides that it "is a perfect day to walk to work." On his way, he waters wildflowers, builds a path across a brook, shares news of a coming storm with neighbors, takes a letter to Emerson, gives comfrey root to the postmaster to help his sore foot, relocates some troublesome woodchucks, and marks a path. And so it continues, and each time a friend asks him what he is doing, he replies, "I'm just walking to work." When asked, "What IS your work?" Henry replies, "It's writing.- I'm writing a book." An image of Henry against a chartreuse landscape fills the cover, conveying what he likes most: being immersed in and writing about nature. Done in colored pencil and paint, the artwork features multifaceted, geometric shapes in earth tones with touches of pastels. Johnson describes Henry's work in the back matter, including Thoreau's words: "For many years I was self-appointed inspector of snow-storms and rainstorms- surveyor, if not of highways, then of forest paths and all across-lot routes, keeping them open, and ravines bridged and passable-." Young readers will appreciate Henry's endeavors, and commiserate with him, having had elders judge their "work" less important or as "child's play."-Marian Creamer, Children's Literature Alive, Portland, OR Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.