One summer day, Henry and
his friend decided to go to
Fitchburg to see the country.
“I’ll walk,” said Henry.
“It’s the fastest way to travel.”
“I’ll work,” Henry’s friend
said, “until I have the money
to buy a ticket to ride the
train to Flitchburg. We’ll see
who gets there first!”
Based on a passage from Henry David Thoreau’s Walden, this book focuses on how there are many ways to reach the same destination. Some of them are more conventional. Some of them are quicker. Some of them are more fun. And all of them take effort, of one sort or another.
Being thoughtful about the kind of effort is best suited to a particular task, rather than just hopping into the first thing that comes to mind is a good message for anyone. The boys like the racing aspect of the book, they like counting the money and the miles accumulated by the two bears, and they are always a bit surprised that the “winner” is ambiguous.
While we really enjoy this book, we’ve tried out a few other in this series (Henry Builds a Cabin and Henry’s Night) that did not connect with the boys. Your mileage may vary.
Author: D.B. Johnson
Illustrator: D.B. Johnson