Dianne McConville Weiss is on the Planning Committee of the Transcendentalism Council of First Parish in Concord; she was the lead organizer for Concord’s Margaret Fuller Bicentennial. She served on the Board of Directors of The Thoreau Society. A Developmental Psychology specialist, Ms. Weiss conducted program evaluation research through Tufts University and for the State of Vermont Child Care Services Division. She has also published creative writing.

Bringing Thoreau to Life for Young Readers with Donna Marie Przybojewski

December 15, 2021

Dianne Weiss and Victor Curran

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The Thoreau Society (thoreausociety.org) is a Concord-based organization with members all over the world. One of the most dedicated is Donna Marie Przybojewski, who teaches at St. Benedict Catholic School in Garfield Heights, Ohio. Five years ago, she set out to share her passion for the author of Walden—“not just [to] introduce Henry to children, but to help them develop a relationship with him.”

The result was “Saunter the Year with Henry David Thoreau,” a year-long, interdisciplinary curriculum for kindergarten through eighth grade students. (In the classroom she often appears in character as Henry, beard and all.) Resources for such an ambitious curriculum were scarce, so Donna Marie began writing and illustrating books for elementary and middle school readers, presenting vignettes of Thoreau’s life and describing his ideas in age-appropriate ways.

The Fall Issue is Here!

The fall issue is here! Dive in and discover five definitive battles of the American Revolution that took place in the fall of 1775, how Concord's minutemen of 1861 responded to the Civil War, "Henry David Thoreau and the Crackbrained Troublemaker," where to find the best cider donuts, and so much more.

Concord’s Minutemen of 1861: Captain George L. Prescott and the Concord Artillery

In the early morning of April 19, 1861, Daniel Lawrence rode into the town of Concord on horseback, rousing the town militia with orders to report to Boston in response to President Lincoln’s call for militia volunteers. The method and timing of this call were no accident.

Relations be Hanged: Frayed Loyalties to King and Family

Stand in the middle of Concord’s North Bridge with the Minute Man statue on your right and the British soldiers’ grave on your left. Place your hands on the rough wooden handrail in front of you; slightly to the left, you will see The Old Manse through the trees. Peer down into the Concord River that Ralph Waldo called “the dark stream which seaward creeps” and brace yourself: this tale is about to get rough.

Dianne Weiss

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Bringing Thoreau to Life for Young Readers with Donna Marie Przybojewski