One of the highlights of my attending the Thoreau Society Annual Gatherings was meeting D. B. Johnson, author and illustrator of the Henry books for children, Henry Builds a Cabin, Henry Hikes to Fitchburg, Henry Climbs a Mountain, and others. I was actually walking a short while on a guided saunter from Fairhaven Bay to Walden Pond with him and other attendees when another asked him what he did and when he replied he was a writer asked him, “What do you write?” He responded and I went into full fan mode for the rest of the walk. I mustn’t have been too over the top though because after the walk we accidentally met at a coffee shop in Concord (no, I wasn’t stalking him, really) and from there went together to hear the keynote speaker Terry Tempest Williams. Unfortunately the books seem to mostly be difficult to find now.

For some time, however, he has been treating us all to a comic strip with his bear, Henry, taking us all on new adventures in nature in true Thoreauvian style. They are free to read and I guess kids might like them too. I find myself looking forward to each Wednesday when they are posted to my email, and yours too if you subscribe. You can also read them on his site, Lost Woods, the title of the strip.

By the way, I was exited to hear he was presented wuth the Walter Harding Distinguished Service Award at the Annual Gathering of The Thoreau Society this past summer. (I was attending virtually and missed it.)

You can explore his works and other fun things at https://www.dbjohnsonart.com/index.html.