Thoreau's Animals by Henry David Thoreau is a lovely book about the animals that Henry came across in his every day life.

A complete joy to read. Very fun and enjoyable, and rather informative as well.

Thoreau's Animals is the journal of Henry David Thoreau, expertly edited by Geoff Wisner. The journal entries are organized chronologically which wonderfully succeeds to create a more immersive experience along with the illustrations of some of the animals mentioned and a map at the end of book.

I felt as if i was taken back in time, seeing the same world Thoreau saw and enjoying how Concord and its creatures changed with every passing season. The love and respect he had for nature permeates every entry of his journal and makes you fall in love with it as well. If I ever visit Concord, MA, I know I wont feel like it is my first time and I know I will look at the entry corresponding to that season and try to search for the animals and landscapes that Thoreau so much loved.

A great book. I must say I am totally obsessed with the sketches and the detailed information is just awesome. Thank you for the opportunity to review for a fair review.

A heartwarming collection of Thoreau's journal musings on wildlife. Thoreau approaches nature with a mix of scientific observation and transcendentalist wonder, with sprinkles of profound social commentary and philosophy throughout; at times, his writing is sublimely poetic. His encounters with various species are often amusing -- highlights include Thoreau capturing several creatures (flying squirrel, screech owl, snapping turtle...) for overnight studies, bonding with a woodchuck by speaking to it in "forest lingo", serenading the perch of Walden Pond with a flute, rescuing an abandoned kitten who managed to "hail" Thoreau in his boat, watching a bat fly around Emerson's living room, and putting a frozen caterpillar under his hat to carry home and thaw out. Simple sketches of the relevant animals, birds, and insects complement the journal entries, which are arranged by season.

I'm not a big fan of Thoreaus, but I'll keep my thoughts to myself regarding his books. I was pleasantly surprised at this one, however. I had no idea he was such a great artist! Pleasantly surprised to see all the wonderful drawings he did of animals i his neighborhood. Fans of his will love this book. I only loved this one!

So apparently this fellow Thoreau is quite well-known for his journals detailing animal and plant life. I suppose I've probably even heard of him at some point. However, it wasn't until I saw a book called Thoreau's Animals available on Netgalley with a cute little drawing on the cover that I ever actually took notice of him.

I downloaded Thoreau's Animals in hopes of seeing lots of pencil drawings of gorgeous animals and tons of details relating to them. Well, there weren't as many pencil drawings as I'd hoped, and the details on the various animals are scatted throughout. However, I wasn't disappointed. The collection is organized by the season instead of the year, for Thoreau’s ‘year’ seems to start with the spring. So the opening pages introduce us to his impressions of March and go forth from there. Some entries are around a page long, whereas others are a mere sentence in length.

A while back I remarked that when it came to flowery language in reading material, it almost universally bored me. Thoreau's Animals proved to be one of the exceptions to this rule. Thoreau's love for nature makes itself known in every phrase he turns. (Except, perhaps, when he likens ducks to ‘rolling pins with wings’.) The illustrator's beatific drawings show an equal amount of joy and respect for the animals he talked about. He seems like he was a rare man, a gentle soul who strove to know all he could about the world around him. His basic respect for the cycle of life is one that needs replicated more often in today's society.

My favorite drawing featured in Thoreau’s Animals was of a little snapping turtle that looks like it could crawl right off the page. The dignified woodchuck profile is a close second though. And the well-described encounter with said woodchuck, whilst not really completely believable, was probably my favorite entry into the book.

Overall, Thoreau’s Animals is a nice, calm collection from Thoreau’s Journals that enable the reader to take a step back and remember the beauty and wonder in the natural world around us.

4.5 stars

This is a lovely distillation of Thoreau's 14 volume <i>Journal</i> into a beautifully illustrated book of Thoreau's observations in an around Concord and Walden Pond. Debby Cotter Kaspari's black and white illustrations add a great deal to the book. I was a little confused by the non-chronological order of journal entries. But not confused enough that I couldn't enjoy the book.

I look forward to seeing <i>Thoreau's Wildflowers</i>.

A beautiful collection of illustrations and Thoreau's comments.