WALDEN

            A few brief but unaltered excerpts, carefully placed in context by an introduction and with ellipses scrupulously indicated, touch on the activities of a year’s cycle and give the young reader a first taste of this beloved 19th-century author’s account of his solitary stay in a pond-side cabin.  With their dramatic use of black combined with the subtle tones of nature, Sabuda’s handsome linoleum-cut illustrations recall Tejima’s work in wood; quietly reflecting Thoreau’s own reverence for his surroundings, they are sure to attract readers.  Whether such abridgments are worthwhile is always debatable, but this one is done with such sensibility to its source that it’s worth consideration.      (Nonfiction/Picture book.  8+)