Burleigh, Robert. Into The Woods. Illus. Wendell Minor. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers. 2003.Into The Woods is a children’s biography picture book written by Robert Burleigh and illustrated by Wendell Minor. Through a series of introspective observations in the form of personal journal articles (taken from Audubon’s actual journals) and an imaginary letter to his father, the story of American woodsman John James Audubon's unique life aspirations are revealed. . Each page contains melancholic narration in rhyming form, such as “I let it go and watched it fly, / A tiny speck against the sky” followed by a short journal entry giving naturalist insights, observations, and past and future reflections, such as “When I see settlers cutting down the forest trees to make way for towns and farms, I pause and wonder.”
The story opens with Audubon reflecting on a time when his father pushed him to become a storeowner, “But John went to the woods instead.” Rather than follow the pre-blazed business trail, John follows his heart and devotes his life to drawing the natural world around him. On every page, John is shown in a different natural environment, but kept constant is the fact that he is always staring and drawing birds in a state of complete contentment. Painted on the pages are full-page watercolor landscape portraits that transcend the reader into a dreamscape wilderness, as well as official pictures by John James Audubon courtesy of the New York Historical Society.
Through the touching story of Audubon’s life choices, this book serves as an inspiring tale of following your heart no matter what others say, as well as a stimulation of the natural environment that children of this generation so desperately need.
Evan Jorgensen
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