1. The pencil says : John Thoreau and Sons
John Thoreau was Henry’s father and Henry improved the pencils so they were the best pencils in the United States.

2. On the first page of the story Henry is writing with his right hand. The second page shows Henry swinging an ax right handed.

3. The animals around Henry as he draws his blueprints are: 1 blue jay, 2 chipmunks, 1 frog, and three geese in the pond.

4. As you follow the pages you will see that they are both building a home.

5. Link to list of animals provided by D.B. Johnson.

6. One scarecrow looks like Henry and one looks like his friend Emerson.

7. The Turtle wears his house on his back and Henry is wearing his house.

8. Henry places a bed, a table, 3 chairs, and a desk. The other items he brings to his cabin are a mirror, books, washbowl, dipper, oil jug, tongs, kettle, skillet, frying pan, 3 knives and forks, 3 plates, 1 cup, 1 spoon, and a molasses jug.

9. Henry wanted to document what he had brought to his cabin. Henry kept a detailed journal of his life at the cabin.

10. Time is depicted through the seasons. In spring he draws the blueprints for his cabin and begins to chop the wood. The pond is thawing. The deciduous trees do not have their leaves. As spring moves into summer the animals have established homes and are having their young. The foliage is thick and Henry’s garden is growing.

11. The first page of the story shows geese in the pond as the pond is thawing. Throughout the story there is a rowboat in the pond, beaver, ducks, and fish.

12. The artist draws lines that refract the illustration. The effect looks like rain.

13. Henry was a talented musician and often took his flute to play while observing nature.

14. I have three chairs in my house. One for myself, two for my friends, and three for society.

15. Henry uses an ax to chop down the trees and cut the logs into square beams. He uses an auger to notch the bottom beams to fit into corner posts. He uses a saw to cut the logs into the the necessary sizes. The plane is to shave the wood so it is smooth. The mallet pounds the beams and wood together. The hammer hammers the nails into the wood to hold the house together.

16. Henry used white pines.

17. Henry gets his wood from the area around his house at Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts.

18. Henry moved into his cabin July 4, 1845.

19. On the first page where Henry is sketching his blueprints he writes down the dimensions.

20. Henry uses twigs to sketch out his cabin and is sitting within the boundaries for his cabin.