As part of my new authenticity, I'm sticking with a subject I know and love for this post - children's books!
This week we've been reading Henry Climbs a Mountain by D.B. Johnson.
I think this series of four books (with more on the way) is truly amazing. They combine an intriguing story for 4-8 year-olds with the historical account of Henry David Thoreau's life. In this book the character Henry (a bear) goes to jail for refusing to pay taxes to a state that supports slavery.
The children and I had some intense discussions following this reading about the evils of slavery, what it used to mean, what it means now, and how our family is helping through our work with Love146. And all from a story about a bear - genius. I can't say enough good things about this series, and I've just made a decision: I'm off to buy all four books to add to our permanent library.
The inspiration for this particular book came from one of Thoreau's passages in Walden: "One afternoon, near the end of the first summer, when I went to the village to get a shoe from the cobbler's, I was seized and put into jail, because I did not pay a tax to, or recognize the authority of, the state which buys and sells men, women, and children, like cattle at the door of its senate-house."
Incredible.
My rating: 5/5
Kids' rating (yep, I asked them): 3 thumbs up
(P.S. And if you're interested in learning more about Thoreau, check out his blog!)
