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Reading is a sedentary activity, so it is interesting that so many books involve active movement of one kind or another. All of the books this month are about walking. Some take the reader on short walks, others tell of epic journeys. Some of these books describe strolls over gentle terrain, while others describe incredible hardships. What these books all have in common is a great way to travel while staying inside and keeping warm and cozy.

Many of you are probably familiar with “Brown Bear, Brown Bear” by Bill Martin. “I Went Walking” by Sue Williams uses a similar story pattern. A young boy goes for a walk and encounters a variety of familiar domestic animals. The refrain is “I went walking.” “What did you see?” “I saw a (color) (name of the animal) looking at me.” The illustrator, Julie Vivas, adds to the fun by hiding the next animal in the illustration on the preceding page. This is a fun book to share with a single child or a group of young children.

”Nature Walk,” written and illustrated by Douglas Florian, is one of my favorite picture books. A family goes hiking in the woods, spotting various animals. There are also animals hidden in the pictures that only the reader can see. This is a fun book to read at any time, but it might be especially good to read it before going on a hike in the redwoods yourselves.

Another book that encourages children to walk mindfully is “The Listening Walk” by Paul Showers. In the illustrations by Aliki, we see a young girl, her father and her old dog Major going for a stroll through their neighborhood. As they walk, the little girl often closes her eyes to focus on the sounds around her. This is a great book to use when talking about the differences among our five senses.

The next book actually involves an imaginary walk. As a young boy hugs his new puppy, he tells him about the walks they'll take together when Pumpkin is a little older. They will walk “down through the meadow and down to the sea.” The boy describes the animals they'll meet along the way and down at the shoreline. “Come Along with Me” is written and beautifully illustrated by Ashley Wolff. The scenes will remind you of our coastline and the wonders to be found there.

”The Flower Hunter” is a picture book biography of William Bartram. It is written and illustrated by Deborah Kogan Ray. Bartram was born in the mid-1700s. His father was a botanist and he grew up in Pennsylvania. He was fascinated by plants and accompanied his father, whenever he was allowed to go along. In 1766, Bartram began traveling on his own. He began in Florida and spent the next 10 years, mainly on foot, wandering in what was then uncharted wilderness. His journey lasted 10 years and covered 2,400 miles. During this time, he kept a scientific journal and painted the wildlife and plants that he saw. Deborah Ray describes him as America's first naturalist.

Another famous walker was John Muir. Kathryn Lasky has written a biography of this man, called “John Muir, America's First Environmentalist.” The reader can share in the wonders that Muir saw through the illustrations by Stan Fellows. Muir was born in Scotland in 1838 and he loved the wild lands there. When his family came to America in 1849, Muir fell in love with his new country too. He actually traveled over much of America, but he is best known for his hikes through the Yosemite Valley and the Sequoia redwoods. By the age of 40, Muir had walked tens of thousands of miles. It was his dream to have land set aside and protected so that later generations could enjoy the beauty that had brought so much joy to his life. Through his founding of the Sierra Club and his tireless work to bring this dream to life, Muir was instrumental in the passage of a bill in 1890 to create Yosemite National Park. This was the beginning of the idea of national parks and he also saw the creation of Sequoia National Park and others. We all owe a great deal to this rather eccentric man and his love of hiking the wilderness.

As difficult as some of Muir's hikes were, he didn't have half the challenges of Matthew Henson, whose thick socks and snug boots took him across the frozen wastes of the Arctic. Henson's story is told in “Onward,” a photobiography written by Dolores Johnson.

Henson was part of Admiral Robert Peary's expeditions to discover the North Pole. Together they braved the elements, but it was Henson's ability to speak Inuit and to adapt the ways of these people to deal with the environment that saved both his and Peary's life and guaranteed their success. As heady as it was to finally reach the Pole in April of 1906, they then faced an equally arduous trip back home.

For many years, Henson was overshadowed by Peary, probably in part because of his African American heritage. It has only been in more recent times that Henson's contributions to the Polar Expeditions have been fully appreciated. In November 2000, the National Geographic Society awarded him the Hubbard Medal posthumously. This is a fascinating story of endurance.

Here's hoping that you will soon travel to the library and find some of the wonderful journeys, both historical and fictional, that wait between the covers of books.

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JoAnn Bauer is a children's librarian for the Humboldt County Library.
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