John Muir: America's Naturalist

by Thomas Locker

Presents an overview of the life of the naturalist who founded the Sierra Club and was influential in establishing the national park system.

Genres: Picture Books, Biography, Biography Memoir, Nature, Science, Art, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published May 27, 2003

About the author

Thomas Locker was one of the major American painters of the past century. In a career that spanned almost 60 years, he had over 75 solo exhibitions. His work ranged from the delicate to the monumental, but all had one thing in common: the beauty of the natural world. He had a deep appreciation for the elusive link between the human spirit and the sublime force of nature.

He spent his entire life in service to his two great passions: painting and nature. Through widespread exhibition of his artwork and publication of his illustrated children’s books, Mr. Locker touched the hearts and minds of countless people.

Mr. Locker’s early paintings were poetic landscapes. Dr. Joshua C. Taylor, former director of the National Collection of Fine Arts for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., wrote, "Although Locker’s landscapes are not glimpses of a new Arcadia, the quotation from the past re-emphasizes their cerebral play. They call attention less to Nature than to the complex intermingling of perception and thought in the mind of man. Suddenly, seeing becomes thinking, and thinking a delight to the age."

In 1982, Thomas Locker’s career took on a new and even broader dimension. In an effort to connect with a wider audience and educate younger minds, he began work on his first children’s picture book, Where the River Begins. Today, Mr. Locker’s exceptional paintings and illustrations grace the pages of some 30 different books, several of which he also wrote. These unique books have been honoured with numerous awards, including the prestigious Christopher Award, the John Burroughs Award, and the New York Times Award for best illustration.

Thomas Locker’s landscapes have a quality all their own. His years of experimentation and research into the glazing techniques and paint chemistry of traditional European painting have enabled him to achieve a new vision of the traditional for a non-traditional age.

His books have received many awards, including the John Burroughs Young Reader Award, NCTE Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts, NSTA-CBS Outstanding Science Trade Book for Children, the Christopher Award, and others.

http://www.rmichelson.com/Artist_Page...

Reviews

[Becky B]

A picture book biography of naturalist and preservationist, John Muir.

The best thing about this book were the amazing illustrations. They are gorgeous and do a fantastic job of capturing the beauty of Yosemite. There are quotes from Muir’s writings scattered throughout the book, as well as further information and a timeline in the back. A nice, simple introduction to Muir that is a feast for the eyes.

[Lady reading under the Willow]

This book has beautiful paintings, and some neat quotations by John Muir.

There is some weird philosophy going on, though, and--based on some other books about John Muir I've read-- I'm thinking his father had some extreme views that weren't condoned by the Bible (and of course, authors always like to point out that he was very devout (perhaps with the intention of making the Bible look bad) and also strict--even abusive--which makes it look like the Bible is the source of and justification for his tyrannical behavior), and John Muir had some equally extreme views in the opposite direction. And somewhere along the way (similarly to our present times), the concept of God-given dominion/stewardship was blown out of proportion by people and turned into wanton waste and destruction. But we shouldn't join the camp of nature-worship, either. We, as humans, are supposed to be stewards of all nature, and GOOD, thoughtful stewards at that. But we have to be careful not to idolize nature/the universe, making them gods and some weird, mystical objects of adoration.

[Rebecca]

The writing had a new age feel to it. Although I love Thomas Locker’s illustrations, I did not enjoy this book.

[Shiloah]

A great biography for kids about John Muir with beautiful illustrations by Thomas Locker.

[Lucy]

Thomas Locker does wonders with his paintings. This is probably a good introduction for children to the naturalist John Muir with the paintings being the main draw, pulling readers into the natural world that Muir observed with such awe. At the end there is a page of quotes from Muir.

[Samantha]

A cute little book about John Muir that would be great for kids!

[Pat]

children's book. not what I expected, way to basic/light/thin...?

[Nav]

It’s gorgeous (which isn’t hard when the images are based on such natural beauty). The biography is pretty basic since its aimed at kids.

[Kyra Rickenbach]

The pictures in this book were amazing. It is a great story to teach students about John Muir and National Parks.

[Matthew]

Another story that is obviously well crafted by Thomas Locker. As ever, his paintings are museum worthy. He kind of exists on his own level when it comes to children's book illustrations. Sure, there are the Bagram Ibatoullines and Wendall Minors out there as well, but Locker's work seems to be on par with that of Thomas Kincade as nature scenes go. You almost want to walk into the page and go for a leisurely stroll. He's really an incredible artist. The writing is always pretty good, but the artwork is just so beautiful it raises the level of the writing all around it.

[Fran]

Thomas Locker's JOHN MUIR is a beautiful first introduction to the life and works of John Muir.
The book can stand alone as a book of art, yet the graphics of the print, white print on colored pages facing Locker's artwork is alluring. Each page of print compliments the artwork it faces.

I suggest the pairing of Thomas Locker's JOHN MUIR and John Muir's STICKEEN: THE STORY OF A DOG for young people on your gift list. If you are a John Muir fan, give this book a look for your own library.

[Miri]

Locker's illustrations are lovely, but not as stunning as Stanley Fellows's. In this book the text is on pages with brown and dark green backgrounds, the illustrations only on facing pages, so the overall effect is—while appropriate—much darker and more muted, and I prefer the other. I really did like the quotes from Muir's journals, though. He had beautiful things to say about the wonders of nature.

[Janet]

The paintings illustrating this title are lovely, but I felt like this was a mood piece with not as much info about Muir as I would have liked. While there was mention of Muir having a huge influence on various people who took up of cause of preservation, there was no text about his relationship with Teddy Roosevelt even though Roosevelt is depicted in the painting. Overall this title lacked substance and was not a balance between text and illustration.

[Holly Beth]

This is a great book if you are interested in Yosemite. I think this book shows just how important this piece of our country was to John. When reading this book I could feel the passion that John had for the wilderness. I would take my students on a nature walk and tell them to look for different things in nature so they could draw pictures.

[Pancho]

I like reading this to my kids. A little above their reading and comprehension level but it has good pictures. They never pick it out themselves and is not one of their favorites but I think it is important to try to embrace nature as did John.

[Beth]

The layout of the book includes a few facts on a page with a direct quotation to the side accompanied by a full page illustration. This book demonstrates his impact on preserving nature.

[Jim]

Any fool can destroy trees. The cannot run away.

Everybody need beauty as well as bread.

both quotes by Muir.