Henry and Mudge and the Snowman Plan

Henry and Mudge #19

by Cynthia Rylant, Suçie Stevenson

In Henry and Mudge's nineteenth adventure, Henry sees a sign about a snowman contest in the park. Can Henry, his father, and his big dog Mudge come up with the best snowman plan to win the contest?

From teh earliest stages of sounding out words to the excitement of reading a whole book without help, Ready-To-Read books open up a world of possibilities to children at four different levels:

PRE-LEVEL1: RECOGNIZING WORDS LEVEL 1: STARTING TO READ LEVEL 2: READING TOGETHER LEVEL 3: READING ALONE

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Chapter Books, Fiction, Dogs, Family, Friendship

40 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 1999

About the author

An author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she is the creator of contemporary novels and historical fiction for young adults, middle-grade fiction and fantasy, lyrical prose poems, beginning readers, collections of short stories, volumes of poetry and verse, books of prayers and blessings, two autobiographies, and a biography of three well-known children's writers; several volumes of the author's fiction and picture books are published in series, including the popular "Henry and Mudge" easy readers about a small boy and his very large dog.

Rylant is perhaps most well known as a novelist. Characteristically, she portrays introspective, compassionate young people who live in rural settings or in small towns and who tend to be set apart from their peers.

from bookrags.com

Reviews

[Annie O'Hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a sweet book about a young boy wanting to participate in a snowman building contest. He is worried that his will not win because it looks different from the rest. However, he soon learns that that is not what is important. This is a good tale to read to young readers ages 3 to 5.

[Alex · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book because I like winter. I also enjoyed this book because I like contests. I also enjoyed this book because I liked the part when Henry, Mudge, and Henry's dad got third place in the snowman contest (they made a snowman of Henry's dad painting a chair).

[Heidi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary:
Henry and his dog, Mudge, were walking around town when they saw a poster advertising a snowman competition in the park. Henry and Mudge went home to tell Henry's dad about it. When they get home, Henry's dad is painting a chair green but more paint is getting on dad than the chair. When they go to the park they have a plan for what their snowman will look like. They used broccoli to make a snowman that had a green mustache just like dad did when he was painting. Their snowman won third place in the competition.

Grade appropriate:
2nd - 4th grade

Review:
As a early chapter book this book is a good transition for readers from picture books to longer chapter books. This book has simple chapters but longer sentences. This book may help kids build their stamina for reading longer books. This book has a picture on almost every page so it would be for a beginner.

[Alex Haven · Rating 4 out of 5]

While out for a walk, Henry and Mudge see a sign for a snowman building contest. When they go home to tell Dad, they see him covered in green paint from trying to paint a chair. When they arrive at the contest, there are all sorts of different snowmen like dogs, Abraham Lincoln, aliens, but only one snowman of Henry's dad covered in the green paint!

This book is a quick and easy read for readers in the 1st-3rd grade level. It shows the bonds between Henry, Mudge, and Dad in a cute and relatable way. This book would be a good read aloud book to do during the winter and discuss different activities you could do in the snow. It would also be a good book for readers to read individually to transition into early chapter books because the vocabulary is simple and easy to follow.

[Mikaela Robbins · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book follows the story of Henry and his dog, Mudge, as they compete in a Snowman competition. While Henry and his father are creating the snowman, Mudge is playing with the other dogs at the competition. Henry wins third place at the competition for his snowman, who was created to look like his father when he paints. The book is all about friendship and working together as a team, it sends a good message to the readers. I think this book is appropriate for 2nd-3rd graders, as the paragraphs and words are easy enough for students just starting to get into reading chapter books.

[Peggy · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was a book that brought back many memories from when I first was learning to read. I love the dog-boy relationship, and how Henry goes to his father for help. As an adult, I see a father-son bond very important. The illustrations complement the text, and the story altogether makes the young reader laugh out loud.

[Jessica Emra]

This is a sweet book about a young boy wanting to participate in a snowman building contest. He is worried that his will not win because it looks different from the rest. However, he soon learns that that is not what is important. This is a good tale to read to young readers ages 3 to 5.

[Elisabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was pretty funny! I read it to one of my students as a reward for his hard work.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry's dad enters a snowman building contest, and Henry hopes for a prize!

[Madison · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like Henry and Mudge because it's cute.

[The Book Box]

Mom and I read this the other night.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

The imaginative plan that Henry and Mudge put into action to create a unique snow sculpture is wonderful!

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

As per all the Henry & Mudge books, Linc reads them with a giggle in his voice. We love these adventures of a boy and his dog.

[Michele Davis · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite part was when they got third place.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was fun to share, especially with some new puppets I got.

[Le Maistre Chat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story about celebrating a father's foibles by making a snowman that looks like him, but not at his most dignified.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

[WinterBat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great twist that tied the whole book together

[Emily Molzan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is one of the books that I remember I read when I was first learning to read. I've always loved dogs, so that's what first caught my eye when I was younger. This book is great for beginning readers, with a great story about a boy, Henry, wanting to participate in the snowman building contest. The illustrations keeps young readers engaged, with a funny story about a boy and his dog.

[Kristina Befort · Rating 5 out of 5]

Personal Reaction:I thought this was an excellent book, and I could immediately tell it was a transitional book. The story has plenty of sentences, but they are relatively short with small amounts of dialogue. I also really liked the illustrations, as they were very vivid and definitely helped to tell the story. I definitely enjoyed this book, so I think this is one that a first, second, or third grader would love, so I would keep this book on my classroom shelf.

Use in the Classroom:
Curricular Connection: I would use this book to teach my students the idea of tone in a story. First, I would read this book aloud, then ask my students what they think the tone of the story is. The overall tone of this book is excitement and anticipation, and I would point this out to my students. Tone is incredibly important to the emotions the reader feels while reading this story, and I would be sure to point out the importance of recognizing tone when reading a book.

Independent Reading: This book has relatively short sentences, and it also introduces basic dialogue to the reader. It also has three chapters in it, so it introduces the concept of different chapter to transitional readers. The illustrations also take up about half of each page, and they help to clarifying the meaning of some of the sentences, which would make reading this book independently much easier. I think this would be a great book for a first or second grader who are advancing in reading as they should be, and it would also be good for a third grader who is struggling with reading. Since it is an easy chapter book, I think it would be a great book for an older student that is struggling with reading, as they might not feel as behind while they are reading it.

Narrative: As I said before, I would definitely use this book to teach tone, but I think I could also use it to teach setting. I could as the students how the story would be different if the theme was different. I could also use it to teach theme, as the theme of this particular story is relatively easy to understand. This would also be an excellent book for introducing the idea of dialogue to the students.

[Chantelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

My son and I both thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series and were excited to find out what would happen as we started each one. Because my son was between 5-6 years old (he's an advanced reader) at the time, he easily identified with Henry and loved Mudge because (1) he desperately wanted a dog, and (2) Mudge's goofiness was endearing AND hilarious.

Read Aloud: Pre-K and Kindergarten
Introduces plot, character development, foreshadowing, and use of imagery.

Independent Reading: First or Second grade (6-7 years old). More complex sentence structure than "Mr. Putter Series" and slightly longer paragraphs. Short chapters (with clever titles), character development, humor, and an easy to follow plot will encourage all children to read.

Underlying themes of friendship, thoughtfulness, and responsibility are seamlessly weaved throughout the book. Although this is a fairly simple children's book, I found myself laughing out loud at the many adventures of Henry and Mudge.

HIGHLY Recommend!!

[McKenna Crimmins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a very fun and entertaining book. The vocabulary wasn't crazy, yet it was just enough to make things funny. The illustrations made it easier to really understand what the whole story was about. They were fun and animated which makes them really interesting to look at, and there was a lot to look at too. This story is easy to relate to and I am sure it is the same way for many people. Building snowmen and having a contest on which one was the best, is something most, if not all children, dream about doing someday. Spending quality time with their favorite parent/guardian is not only a great way to connect, but to also get to know each other even better. I thought this book was very cute.

[Martha · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Henry and Mudge books. I think they all remind me a little bit of Denace the Menace. But i do like the way Rylant writes a special relationship between a boy and his dog. Little boys always take adventures with their dogs and this series makes that come to life for the reader. Great easy-readers for boys!

[Rosa Cline · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've 'tagged' this book as a 'Father's Day" book although it takes place in Jan and in the middle of tons of snow. It's a special time that Henry spends with his Dad having fun together.

Henry and Mudge want to enter a snowman building contest. And with the encouragement of Henry's dad they do enter with a very unique snowman.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another fun book in the "Henry and Mudge" series by Cynthia Rylant and Suçie Stevenson. Our girls really love these books and they are great for beginning readers. The snow theme for this book is fun, especially for those of us who live where there is no snow.

[Jonah]

Puppy!

[Johannes Kristian · Rating 3 out of 5]

MCL. I thought the book was crazy because I just like it.

[Jessie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Henry and Mudge make a snowman.

[Jaeger Matthias · Rating 4 out of 5]

henrys father was in the basement painting a chair he had green paint on his nose and in his mustache.

[Bree · Rating 3 out of 5]

Notes:
My son liked a handful of these books when he had just learned to read, but they weren't favorites like frog and toad or mr. putter books