Louisa May and Mr. Thoreau's Flute

by Julie Dunlap, Marybeth Lorbiecki, Mary Azarian (Illustrator)

Louisa May Alcott finds a friend in her elder neighbor, Henry David Thoreau, and learns from him how to capture one's thoughts and find one's own inspirations on paper, in a charming picture book set in nineteenth-century Massachusetts.

Genres: Picture Books, Historical Fiction, Biography Memoir, Childrens, Nature

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 30, 2002

Reviews

[Tarissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely picture book which details an era of Louisa May Alcott's childhood, when she desired to follow the call of her neighborly Pied Piper, the famed writer, Henry David Thoreau. He may have seemed like an eccentric man to most others, but to Louisa, he embodied everything she wished she could do too. Her days that she was allowed to follow him were some of the brightest of her childhood. Days spent rambling in the woods, rowing down the river, and spending the day berry-picking. All while enjoying Mr. Thoreau's beautiful flute music.

Louisa had a free spirit, and so did he. As this little story shows, Louisa was greatly inspired by this man.

The illustrations nicely accompany the text. Lovely colors are used all throughout. I enjoyed the story overall.

Thoreau did not live to see Louisa's great success as an author. After Thoreau's death in 1862, Louisa wrote a tribute poem for him, entitled "Thoreau's Flute". I have included this poem below for your reading pleasure (via The Atlantic).

- - - - - - - - - -

We, sighing, said, “Our Pan is dead;
His pipe hangs mute beside the river; —
Around his wistful sunbeams quiver,
But Music’s airy voice is fled.
Spring mourns as for untimely frost;
The bluebird chants a requiem;
The willow-blossom waits for him; —
The Genius of the wood is lost.”

Then from the flute, untouched by hands,
There came a low, harmonious breath:
“For such as he there is no death; —
His life the eternal life commands;
Above man’s aims his nature rose:
The wisdom of a just continent,
And tuned to poetry Life’s prose.

“Haunting the hills, the stream, the wild,
Swallow and aster, lake and pine,
To him grew human or divine, —
Fit mates for this large-hearted child.
Such homage Nature ne’er forgets,
And yearly on the coverlid
’Neath which her darling lieth hid
Will write his name in violets.

“To him no vain regrets belong,
Whose soul, that finer instrument,
Gave to the world no poor lament,
But wood-notes ever sweet and strong.
O lonely friend! he still will be
A potent presence, though unseen, —
Steadfast, sagacious, and serene:
Seek not for him, — he is with thee.”

-Louisa May Alcott
Thoreau's Flute

- - - - - - - - - -

This book was read during the Louisa May Alcott Reading Challenge found on:
https://inthebookcase.blogspot.com

[QNPoohBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story may not be 100% true in facts but it is a good introduction to Louisa May Alcott. The spirit of the story is true even if the facts are not. Louisa was a wild, wilful girl who hated being forced into the narrow box prescribed for girls and women at that time. Mr. Thoreau was an odd duck who didn't fit in, much like Louisa. His teachings and his music inspire Louisa to become a better writer. This is a lovely message for children. I think nature loving niece and nephew will especially enjoy this book and niece who identifies with Jo March, will sense a kindred spirit in Louisa. I certainly did when I first read about her. This book also provides a great introduction to Henry David Thoreau though I think my nieces and nephews may have read the Henry bear series (by D.B. Johnson) based on Thoreau's life. It provided me with a better sense of who he was as a person.

The woodcut illustrations are wonderful! An old-fashioned craft that gives both the old-fashioned feel but also the bold splash of color modern kids like. I like wild Louisa with her hair flowing and her ink blots. She reminds me of Laura Ingalls. The colors seem accurate for the period (I'm not seeing any wild colors that don't appear in nature) and show kids that old doesn't mean dull.

[Dolly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I saw this book at our local library and I thought the timing was great. I've just recently returned to reading Walden again and I'm determined to finish it. And I've always loved Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. I did not know that these two literary figures knew each other well, so I learned as much by reading this story as our girls did. And the prologue and afterword were very informative and interesting. The woodcut illustrations are colorful and complement the story nicely. Although this is shelved in the fiction section, I am tempted to mark it down as non-fiction because of the true nature of the story.

[littlemiao · Rating 3 out of 5]

[originally posted on my blog]... The book recreates how the young Louisa May Alcott discovered her own inner music and wrote her first poem. The free-spirited "Louy" longs to spend her time on Mr. Thoreau's nature walks exploring the Concord woods, not cooped inside with household chores. Mr. Thoreau's flute melodies enthrall her and she struggles to express her own music. The vibrant woodcuts by Mary Azarian add historical detail to the text and mirror Louy's bold spirit.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A fine book about a pretty tenuous connection between Louisa May Alcott and Thoreau. The book is about how Louis and Thoreau were friendly neighbors, and he did weird Thoreau things, like sitting up in a tree and playing a flute for children and brushing his hair with a pinecone. The book was full of fun little anecdotes and ends with Louisa writing a poem, that may or may not have been influenced by Thoreau, and may or may not have been shown to Thoreau. There's a bit of a narrative leading up to this, but I think that Thoreau's influence on Louisa May Alcott as a writer is pretty speculative. Perhaps in the broadest sense of "everyone we interact with has an influence on our creative output and Louisa interacted with Thoreau" I can see the connection, but the textual evidence in this book is sparse.

If you're here to learn something other than funny anecdotes, I'd read a different biography. But if you're a diehard Alcott or Thoreau fan, you may find something to like here (I did!)

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Based on facts garnered from journals and letters of Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau, the authors craft a lovely story showing Alcott's roots -- and her feisty personality. This story takes place when "Louy" is seven, the oldest of four daughters, and shows quite clearly her life of chores, love of nature, and beginnings of her writing prowess. There's lots of text, but interesting and insightful. Mary Azarian's gorgeous woodcuts accentuate the story beautifully.

[Myah Rusco · Rating 3 out of 5]

I chose this book in order to show a story based on a real person. I think that in the classroom it would be a good activity to have the students research Louisa May Alcott and then read this story in order for them to be able to reflect on it. I thought that the story was interesting and would keep students engaged.

[Libby Hill · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely look into Louisa May Alcott’s childhood and a peek into David Henry Thoreau’s character as well.

My only question after reading it is about Thoreau’s association with the family. I thought he was on closer terms with the Alcotts but I may be wrong.

A beautiful story of gaining inspiration by quiet example.

Highly recommended for 6-10 year olds.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

A sweet story about Louisa May Alcott and Henry David Thoreau when Louisa is a girl and Mr. Thoreau was a school teacher.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable book that I think children will enjoy.
Teach: History and language arts. Read to help children see the joy of writing.

[Rebecca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great picture book biography of Louisa May Alcott. Her imagination was sparked by Henry David Thoreau and Nature.

[Stella Schaefer-Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute!

[Jean-Marie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed how this picture book told the story behind the friendship and mentorship between a young Louisa May (Louy) and Mr Thoreau. He inspired her to gain a different perspective of nature and writing.

"When he pulled out a notebook, Louy grimaced. She worried they'd never taste huckleberries if Mr. Thoreau started writing. It took her forever to write anything! And father spent hours scratching out words and trying new ones to craft a perfect sentence.

Mr. Thoreau's notebook disappeared after a few quick jottings. What could he have written so quickly? Louy wanted to know, but she had little time to wonder. The berry pickers were off again over a hill and straight toward the huckleberries."

[Shannonmde]

And Louisa thrilled to every word of Mr. Thoreau's stories about elves dancing on toadstools. One time she nearly stepped on a cobweb, and he gently caught her arm. "Careful, Louisa. That's a lace handkerchief dropped by a fairy."

pictures by illustrator of Snowflake Bentley. (woodcuts)

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

I would like to know how accurate this story is but fun to read and think about.

[Shelley · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was interesting to read for added insight into Lousia's life as a girl and into Thoreau's lie from another person's perspective. Not amazingly written though.