Julie Dunlap is a children’s book writer whose books have earned a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Boston Globe Pick of the Lists, a Teachers’ Choice from Learner Magazine, a Parents’ Choice Award, and an honorable mention for children’s books from the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education. Her children’s books include Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau’s Flute (Dial Books for Young Readers); Parks for the People: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted; Extraordinary Horseshoe Crabs; and Coyotes and Bats (written under her pseudonym, Julia Vogel). She has also co-edited two anthologies for adult readers, Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring Nature Together (MIT Press) and Coming of Age at the End of Nature (Trinity University Press) and writes for environmental education organizations such as Interfaith Oceans and the Audubon Naturalist Society. She earned a PhD in social ecology from Yale University and teaches undergraduates about wildlife ecology and sustainability at the University of Maryland University College.  Megan Elizabeth Baratta is a children's book illustrator and winner of the School Library Journal's inaugural 2022 Endies Award for Best Map. She lives in central New York with her husband, daughter, and three cats. She loves rendering scenes of ordinary life and showing their quiet beauty. Her books include Most Days, I Begin With Spring, and The Secret Stream.

"Starred Review!K-Gr 4–Henry David Thoreau, more commonly known for his literary works, is revealed to be a multi-layered gentleman in this refreshing biography. Written in descriptive prose and beautifully illustrated with drawings and primary resources, this is an exploration of the convergence of influences that shaped his philosophy and naturalist lifestyle. As an inquisitive and keenly observant child, Thoreau had an ability to use all his senses to connect with the plants, animals, and the flow of the seasons; this ability provided him with the foundation that would eventually aid phenological studies 150 years after his death. Dunlap details Thoreau’s upbringing and some of the historical figures (lesser and well-known) who would have an impact on his life and writing. Baratta’s glorious illustrations, time lines highlighting Thoreau’s observations, and Thoreau’s own words evoke a sense that readers are exploring the mind of a man with a deep respect for all life and stages in the cycle. Readers will not only come to appreciate, as Thoreau did, the beauty in nature and simplicity, but feel inspired to treat the earth and its inhabitants with kindness as well.VERDICT An engaging and inspiring biographical title for budding scientists, artists, and environmentalists."

Julie Dunlap is a children’s book writer whose books have earned a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Boston Globe Pick of the Lists, a Teachers’ Choice from Learner Magazine, a Parents’ Choice Award, and an honorable mention for children’s books from the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education. Her children’s books include Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau’s Flute (Dial Books for Young Readers); Parks for the People: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted; Extraordinary Horseshoe Crabs; and Coyotes and Bats (written under her pseudonym, Julia Vogel). She has also co-edited two anthologies for adult readers, Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring Nature Together (MIT Press) and Coming of Age at the End of Nature (Trinity University Press) and writes for environmental education organizations such as Interfaith Oceans and the Audubon Naturalist Society. She earned a PhD in social ecology from Yale University and teaches undergraduates about wildlife ecology and sustainability at the University of Maryland University College.  Megan Elizabeth Baratta is a children's book illustrator and winner of the School Library Journal's inaugural 2022 Endies Award for Best Map. She lives in central New York with her husband, daughter, and three cats. She loves rendering scenes of ordinary life and showing their quiet beauty. Her books include Most Days, I Begin With Spring, and The Secret Stream.

"Starred Review!K-Gr 4–Henry David Thoreau, more commonly known for his literary works, is revealed to be a multi-layered gentleman in this refreshing biography. Written in descriptive prose and beautifully illustrated with drawings and primary resources, this is an exploration of the convergence of influences that shaped his philosophy and naturalist lifestyle. As an inquisitive and keenly observant child, Thoreau had an ability to use all his senses to connect with the plants, animals, and the flow of the seasons; this ability provided him with the foundation that would eventually aid phenological studies 150 years after his death. Dunlap details Thoreau’s upbringing and some of the historical figures (lesser and well-known) who would have an impact on his life and writing. Baratta’s glorious illustrations, time lines highlighting Thoreau’s observations, and Thoreau’s own words evoke a sense that readers are exploring the mind of a man with a deep respect for all life and stages in the cycle. Readers will not only come to appreciate, as Thoreau did, the beauty in nature and simplicity, but feel inspired to treat the earth and its inhabitants with kindness as well.VERDICT An engaging and inspiring biographical title for budding scientists, artists, and environmentalists."

Julie Dunlap is a children’s book writer whose books have earned a Junior Library Guild Selection, a Boston Globe Pick of the Lists, a Teachers’ Choice from Learner Magazine, a Parents’ Choice Award, and an honorable mention for children’s books from the National Association for Humane and Environmental Education. Her children’s books include Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau’s Flute (Dial Books for Young Readers); Parks for the People: The Life of Frederick Law Olmsted; Extraordinary Horseshoe Crabs; and Coyotes and Bats (written under her pseudonym, Julia Vogel). She has also co-edited two anthologies for adult readers, Companions in Wonder: Children and Adults Exploring Nature Together (MIT Press) and Coming of Age at the End of Nature (Trinity University Press) and writes for environmental education organizations such as Interfaith Oceans and the Audubon Naturalist Society. She earned a PhD in social ecology from Yale University and teaches undergraduates about wildlife ecology and sustainability at the University of Maryland University College.  Megan Elizabeth Baratta is a children's book illustrator and winner of the School Library Journal's inaugural 2022 Endies Award for Best Map. She lives in central New York with her husband, daughter, and three cats. She loves rendering scenes of ordinary life and showing their quiet beauty. Her books include Most Days, I Begin With Spring, and The Secret Stream.

"Starred Review!K-Gr 4–Henry David Thoreau, more commonly known for his literary works, is revealed to be a multi-layered gentleman in this refreshing biography. Written in descriptive prose and beautifully illustrated with drawings and primary resources, this is an exploration of the convergence of influences that shaped his philosophy and naturalist lifestyle. As an inquisitive and keenly observant child, Thoreau had an ability to use all his senses to connect with the plants, animals, and the flow of the seasons; this ability provided him with the foundation that would eventually aid phenological studies 150 years after his death. Dunlap details Thoreau’s upbringing and some of the historical figures (lesser and well-known) who would have an impact on his life and writing. Baratta’s glorious illustrations, time lines highlighting Thoreau’s observations, and Thoreau’s own words evoke a sense that readers are exploring the mind of a man with a deep respect for all life and stages in the cycle. Readers will not only come to appreciate, as Thoreau did, the beauty in nature and simplicity, but feel inspired to treat the earth and its inhabitants with kindness as well.VERDICT An engaging and inspiring biographical title for budding scientists, artists, and environmentalists."