Henry David Thoreau for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities

Henry David Thoreau for Kids: His Life and Ideas, with 21 Activities — page 7
in leader AT HOME IN CONCORD avid Henry Thoreau was born on July 12 1817 in Concord Massachusetts His parents John Thoreau and Cynthia Dunbar Thoreau already had two small children five year old Helen and two year old John Jr John was a quiet man Cynthia was an outspoken woman The family lived in part of a farm house that Cynthia had grown up in as a teen Henry's father was trying to make a living as both a storekeeper and a farmer Unfortunately his timing was bad 1816 was known to many as the Year Without a Summer On the other side of the planet an Indonesian volcano named Tambora had erupted in 1815 It sent so much thick ash into the Earth's atmosphere that it affected the next growing season in North America and northern Europe People living in Massachusetts saw frost in every month of 1816 More northern states and Canada had snow in every month As a result many crops didn't have a chance to grow well or even at all Anyone who raised veg etables for others had problems producing enough to