Henry Huggins

Henry Huggins #1

by Beverly Cleary, Louis Darling (Illustrator)

Henry Huggins was usually happy, but today he felt awful. Miss Roop had chosen him to play the lead part in the Glenwood School Christmas operetta. That meant Henry would have to stand on stage in pajamas and be kissed by some dumb old eighth grade girl who was supposed to be his mother. All his friends would laugh at him. It was too horrible even to think about.

But Henry Huggins finds a way out of this predicament--and many others--with the help of his loyal dog Ribsy. Before he adopted Ribsey. Henry used to wish for exciting things to happen. But how, with Ribsy around, Henry's hilarious adventures just don't seem to stop!
--back cover

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Middle Grade, Classics, Audiobook, Chapter Books, Realistic Fiction

155 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1950

About the author

Beverly Atlee Cleary was an American writer of children's and young adult fiction. One of America's most successful authors, 91 million copies of her books have been sold worldwide since her first book was published in 1950. Some of her best known characters are Ramona Quimby and Beezus Quimby, Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy, and Ralph S. Mouse.
The majority of Cleary's books are set in the Grant Park neighborhood of northeast Portland, Oregon, where she was raised, and she has been credited as one of the first authors of children's literature to figure emotional realism in the narratives of her characters, often children in middle-class families. Her first children's book was Henry Huggins after a question from a kid when Cleary was a librarian. Cleary won the 1981 National Book Award for Ramona and Her Mother and the 1984 Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw. For her lifetime contributions to American literature, she received the National Medal of Arts, recognition as a Library of Congress Living Legend, and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal from the Association for Library Service to Children. The Beverly Cleary School, a public school in Portland, was named after her, and several statues of her most famous characters were erected in Grant Park in 1995. Cleary died on March 25, 2021, at the age of 104.

Reviews

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

(ISBN was reused, my HC from 1978 has boy leaning against bus stop obelisk, Ribsy peeking out of bag.)

Only the innocence and the prices date this, imo. There's no reason children today can't get a kick out of the pair's adventures with riding the bus, guppies, the school Christmas 'operetta,' and more. Then there's the very special ending which still chokes me up. And Louis Darling's illustrations are perfect. Read it aloud with your family. If your kids are grown, read it to your dog, your fish, or your inner child. ;)

[Jel · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’m definitely way too old for this. Sighh. It’s interesting however, I am just too old to read books about a runaway dog and some boys. The ending was probably the best part, hilarious.

[Catherine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Published in 1950, this book takes you back to a time when an ice cream cone cost a nickel, kids bought horse meat for their dogs at the pet store, and a third-grader could run all over Portland by himself.

Henry is just an average kid with a tendency to get himself into interesting situations. He finds a skinny mutt and, after checking with his mom, brings him home on the city bus. Chaos ensues. He buys two guppies at the pet shop and ends up with a bedroom full of canning jars filled with guppies. And then his mom needs her canning jars back. He accidentally loses another kid's expensive football and has to earn the money collecting nightcrawlers. His teacher gives him the lead role in the school Christmas play as a "little boy" because he's the shortest boy in his 4th grade class, but his dog and a bucket of green paint get him out of it. He decides to enter his dog in the local kids' dog show, but a series of events lead to his dog being light pink...and winning a prize. It's all normal stuff -- no superheroes, no magic -- but Cleary is such a fantastic writer that she doesn't need any of that. And her characters are realistic, mischievous, and hilarious, without being obnoxious.

As a mom, I really like how each chapter is a self-contained story, instead of cliff-hanger chapters like Runaway Ralph and Ralph S. Mouse. It makes for easier bedtime reading.

This is the third Beverly Cleary book I've read to my boys (ages 4 & 6), but the first one featuring a human main character. We all really enjoyed it and I plan to read the rest of the series to them. (Hopefully, we won't lose steam like we did on the The Wonderful Wizard of Oz series or Elizabeth Enright's Melendy Family series.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Luckiest Girl, Beverly Cleary's Young Adult novel from 1958, was one of my favorite books in my preteen years. After re-reading it a few months ago, I decided to read her middle grade books as research for the memoir I am writing. Henry Huggins was the first of these and the first book she published.

I don't remember reading it as a child but I very well may have because it is about a boy who got a dog. I wanted a dog so much when I was in third grade that I convinced my friend across the street to say that her dog was half mine.

Beverly Cleary's intention and genius was to write stories that kids in the 1950s could relate to. She had been a children's librarian and had spent countless hours talking to kids about what they liked to read. Finally she decided to write such books herself and started an entire trend.

Henry Huggins is a small town, middle-class third grader who feels his life is not very exciting. He rides a bus, by himself, to the center of town every Wednesday to go swimming at the YMCA. One day while waiting for the bus home, he finds a stray dog, names him Ribsy because the dog is so thin, manages to get Ribsy home and convince his parents to let him keep the dog.

The entire first chapter is full of excitement. The book goes on to relate Henry's life with Ribsy and other pets on Klickitat Street. I love that name! Every time I came to it I would say it out loud.

The atmosphere on Klickitat Street is a microcosm of 1950s American small town life. The kids play, roam the neighborhood, perform in school plays and enter their pets in a dog show. From the moment that Henry gets Ribsy his life is full of exciting problems and Henry turns out to be very good at solving problems.

The kids talk the way we talked in those days. "Hey, cut that out!" "Golly." "Gee whiz." " Beat it!" And even "Shut up!" to any friend who was teasing.

Lessons are learned but these kids already have a moral sense, so the lessons are practical, how-to-get-along-in-life type experiences illustrated by the story rather than relayed through the mouths of adults.

I think parents today could learn more about child rearing from Beverly Cleary than from any modern book on parenting. Maybe the kids could read her books on their iPhones.

[Naksed · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet, funny, quick read for my fifth-grader about an 11 year old boy, Henry Huggins, who leads what he feels like a very boring life on Klickikat Street, before a dog named Ribsy suddenly turns everything topsy-turvy.

Bonus was that mom enjoyed it too, which does not always happen with children's books. The chapter about the school Christmas play had us both giggling out loud and almost in tears. Style of story-telling and themes reminded me of A Christmas Story.

The book was originally published in 1950 so inevitably, there are certain stereotypes played for laughs which are not funny at all today. For example, Henry remembers how he didn't mind playing an Indian in a prior school play since he didn't have to memorize any lines but simply stood there saying "Ugh!" That's okay. It was a teaching/learning moment, and especially relevant as the kidlet just finished a social studies unit on Native-Americans and their rich, complex history and culture.

Overall, I would recommend it for young readers.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

When my mom got it on CD at a book sale for our library, we got it. Then we took the train to Utah. I listened to it on the way home. The problem was that CD two was so scratched up that I had to go to CD 3. So, I had to have the Library order it for me so I could read chapters three and four. I really think that in the last chapter, Finders Keepers, was one of the most exciting of them all, where Risby, (The dog,) had to decide which boy he wanted for his master. And as I listened to the talk with Beverly Cleary, I really thought about what she said, and in the beginning where usually if a woman wrote a book, the main character would be a girl, and if it was a man, he would write about a boy. As Beverly Cleary thought, she wrote about a boy. In chapter two, I thought it was really funny. When Mr. Pennyworth said that the bunch of guppies were for seven dollars, I would also think I would be rich, of course, I need that kind of money. And while Henry thought about kittens, I thought, No way Henry should get a kitten. Henry already has Ribsy. I also loved chapter five. The Pale pink dog. I thought, what Mischief will Henry get into?
When I read chapter four, I thought about the worms Henry's neighbor was talking about being ten inches long. Also, that would take tons of time to catch enough to pay Scooter, the fifth grader for the football. I really think it was so good that once my Dad brought it home from the Library, I sat down and started to read it. No question about it, I just loved reading the book. I've wanted to know about the author and how they think of all the wonderful ideas for the books they write like the first part of the book with Henry meeting Ribsy and trying to get onto the bus, and then the part with the lady and the apples, and the big mess on the bus. And he having to ride home in a police car, It is so exciting. Ramona and Bezzus, entered the story, I thought about the book, about those two. Then I listened to the ending and Beverly Cleary telling how Ramona got her own books. As for Henry Huggins, and his dog Ribsy, he is a road crossing boy. I think that this book was one of the best books Beverly Cleary wrote. Well, at least out of all the Beverly Cleary books I've read of hers.

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Delightful read for boys and girls!

[Irene · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never did read any of the Henry Huggins books when I was a kid, and boy, did I miss out!

My 7-year-old daughter said she wanted to give this book 4 1/2 stars, and when I asked her why not 5 stars, she said, "Because it wasn't long enough." So, given that the only "problem" was that the book left her wanting more, I think 5 stars is a fair rating for both of us.

I really loved how good-natured Henry is. I'm not sure how old he is in the book - maybe 5th grade? He is basically an all-around good kid. As we watch him navigate his adventures (all of which are quite humorous!), we see that he is well-meaning, resourceful, and hard-working. He is not afraid of new experiences, he figures things out as he goes, and he is not easily frustrated, upset, or discouraged. I am sure my daughter did not identify with Henry as much as she did with misunderstood Ramona Quimby and her growing pains, but I think Henry - like older, responsible Beezus - is a good role model for behavior.

When asked what she likes about this book, my daughter said simply, "That Henry finds Ribsy." Though not all of the stories in this book involve Ribsy, it's clear that Henry and Ribsy have that special boy-and-his-dog relationship that is more akin to friendship than ownership.

[Bookishrealm · Rating 4 out of 5]

Out of all the Beverly Cleary books that I read during my childhood, I can't believe that I'd never read Henry Huggins. While there isn't necessarily much to this book, I must admit that there is a certain charm to Henry and his adventures with Ribsy. As an adult that was familiar with Henry only through the context of Ramona and Beezus, it was nice to be able to step into his origin story and Cleary's first every published work. This was delightful, simplistic, and brought me back to my very own childhood. Hopefully in the coming year or so, I'll get the chance to read more from this series and continue on with the rest of Cleary's titles.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I was a kid and started reading Beverly Cleary' s book's, I started with the Ramona series. I discovered later that Henry Huggins was her first book.
It starts with a boy meeting a dog.
The funniest part is Henry trying to get the dog home on the city bus.
From that adventure he goes to buying a pair of fish that have so many babies, he can no longer find a place for them.
The chapter about the night crawlers creep me out still, after all this time.
Another great moment is when Henry decides to enter Ribsy in a dog show.
This book will find the kid in all if us, and remind us how it felt to be a kid. Great writer

[Laura (Book Scrounger) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

This was cute. I'm not necessarily a fan of "dog stories" in general, but I like how the focus was on Henry's relationship with Ribsy, and how he eventually became a member of the community. I enjoyed the "guppy" story especially. Of course, this book is a bit dated and from a "simpler" time (or so we call it now), but I think there's still enough here for today's children to enjoy.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't read most Beverly Cleary books as a child. This one I picked up a while ago, and it seemed a timely moment to actually read it. I was not particularly wowed, but it was her first book, and there were some amusing moments. I liked it better if I tried to think of it as more of an early reader than a chapter book. Does the series get better?

[Noel (noelreads) · Rating 2 out of 5]

The kids and I really disliked the ending of this book. Without giving too much away, there was so much selfishness that we had a hard time feeling the way the author intended us to feel about it all. Disappointing.

[Jason Pettus · Rating 5 out of 5]

2021 reads, #14. Stop everything! BEVERLY CLEARY HAS DIED! Like millions of others, Cleary is one of the authors I used to regularly read back in my childhood in the 1970s; and I've been meaning to do a middle-aged reassessment of her work, much like I did with Judy Blume in 2019, so her unfortunate passing seemed as good a day as any to jump on the Chicago Public Library website and check out eight of her ebooks before everyone else could come around to the idea of doing so themselves.

First up, her very first book, 1950's Henry Huggins, which Cleary was famously inspired to write during her time as a public librarian, after listening to the neighborhood boys endlessly complain about the silly Victorian Little Lord Fauntleroy nonsense they were being forced to read at school, and asking Cleary, "Where are the books about us?" Set in Cleary's longtime hometown of Portland, Oregon (making it all the funnier that in the 21st century, the city's now mostly known for its pot-smoking indie-rock hipsters), this was the author's attempt to answer that kid's question, presenting us a flawed, dorky everyboy hero whose travails and tribulations were not of the mistaken-identity inherited fortune variety*, but more domestic adventures like the time he impulsively buys some guppies at the local pet store one day with some birthday money, the fish start breeding like...well, guppies, and Henry soon finds himself with dozens of jars lining every surface of his room and with no way to get rid of them all. (Spoiler alert: He sells them all back to the pet store, and uses his store credit to get a single catfish that won't breed in its tank.)

The book's filled with silly, fluffy stories like this, which to 21st century eyes will seem like the exact kind of innocuous, sweetly innocent pieces we would exactly expect from "chapter-book" literature designed specifically for tweens between the ages of 8 and 12; so it's remarkable to reflect that, 71 years ago when this first came out, it caused a literal revolution in children's literature, leading first to mainstream acceptance of the genre (this was the same period that the Newbery and Caldecott awards changed from obscure industry accolades to part of the national consciousness), then to the genre's maturity (The Catcher in the Rye, arguably the world's first YA novel, came out exactly one year after this book, Lord of the Flies three years after that, and Blume's first novel 15 years after that), and eventually to the genre's commercial ascendency (the first "Harry Potter" book was released almost exactly 50 years after Henry Huggins).

Those are some giant footprints for a self-admitted shy homebody like Cleary, and it's pretty remarkable that she not only caused all this to happen, but actually lived to see the entire thing. All this should be kept in mind when actually reading her books, which at least in this first case was a story I suspect modern kids will have a harder and harder time connecting to from this point forward, much like how Booth Tarkington's old "Penrod" children's stories also once used to sell in the millions and now are barely remembered. If you're ever going to read Cleary's books with an eye towards them being relatable to contemporary kids, right this second would be the time to do so, because I suspect this soon won't be the case ever again.

*And indeed, one of the aspects of this book I only appreciated here in my middle-aged reapproaching of it is that Cleary acknowledges this schism in children's literature right in the story itself, by devoting a chapter to the kids at Henry's school being forced to perform a Christmas pageant based on one of these hoary old Victorian tales, in which Henry is forced to play a pajamas-sporting five-year-old whose dialogue consists of such mortifying lines as "Good night, dearest Mother!" and "Ho hum, my am I sleepy!" This is essentially what all children's literature read like back in the late 1940s when Cleary wrote this book, and it was quite clever of her to include the reference in her own updating of the genre.

The 2021 Beverly Cleary Memorial Re-Read:
Henry Huggins (1950)
Henry and Beezus (1952)
Otis Spofford (1953)
Henry and Ribsy (1954)
Fifteen (1956)
Henry and the Paper Route (1957)
Henry and the Clubhouse (1962)
Ribsy (1964)
Ramona and Her Mother (1979)
Dear Mr. Henshaw (1983)
Ramona Forever (1984)
Strider (1991)

[Nazanin Mousavi · Rating 3 out of 5]

این فقط یه کتاب کوددکه اما من یه نفس خوندمش، باهاش استرسی شدم، غمگین شدم، خندیدم، یه ذره گریه هم کردم.
از قهرمان‌های کتابهای کلیری خوشم میاد. زندگی معمولی دارن، با چالش‌های آشنا روبه‌رو می‌شن، و خبری از پایان‌های خوش معجزه‌وار هم نیست.

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Me: 5 stars
Son (age 11): 5 stars
Daughter (age 6): 5 stars

We all loved this book! I don't think I ever actually read Henry Huggins when I was a kid, but I did read a lot of other Beverly Cleary books. Henry and his dog Ribsy are both lovable characters, and the situations and solutions they find themselves in are just good clean fun. My kids laughed at the typical exclamations from this time period - "golly!", "gee whiz", and "jeepers!". And the narration by Neil Patrick Harris was perfect.

[Yibbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had forgotten how amazingly engaging these stories are. It's a series absolutely believable and mundane daily events. Still, Cleary brings out the hilarious and deeply touching in each one with enough speed to capture a child's attention and enough detail to transport an adult back to the days of their childhood. And the illustrations in this edition are absolutely gorgeous. They have the same action and innocence that make this a story that you will come back to again and again.
I can't recommend it enough for every child in your life and you.

[Ariana · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot how much I loved this book. Henry Huggins brings back good memories of being a kid. Like Henry, my friends and I spent our time outside, and usually had some fun project going. Henry just seems like the kind of boy that every kid would want for a friend. He had a great dog, good business sense, and a lot of spunk. This is a great book for kids and a fun way for parents to remember the joys of being a kid.

[Annette · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am currently working my way through a Beverly Cleary boxed set with my nearly 6-year-old boy. We moved on to Henry Huggins after finishing the motorcycle trilogy. Personally, I think Huggins is considerably better. Both Henry and Ribsy are genuinely likeable, and the scrapes they get into are both innocent, believable, and amusing. As each chapter encapsulated a complete short story, it also worked better as a read-aloud.
As an adult I enjoyed the nostalgic aspects of the book. It is set about the time my father was growing up (1950) and only a few miles from his boyhood home, but Portland was a Very different place back then. A place where an 8 year old boy could ride the city bus to the Y and go swimming for an hour, stop at the drugstore for a nickle ice cream cone, and make friends with a stray dog - quite unsupervised and without even a cell phone to keep him tethered to Mommy's side! A place where the pet store unapologetically sold horse meat for a dog's consumption, kids were required to act in Christmas Operettas at the public school, and parents were not too terribly concerned to have their child collecting worms in the dead of night at the park a couple of blocks away. A place, in other words, I might prefer to live in!
One minor quibble is that in the newest edition of the book, Henry and his friends are illustrated wearing very modern clothing. While I feel the stories are largely timeless - certainly my son found nothing off-putting about them - I felt the current clothing was jarring given that the myriad other details (see above!) are so clearly 1950's and not today. Or maybe I'd just gotten my own picture of Henry fixed in my head based on the illustrations from the version I read in the 80's...

PS: Some years after I'd read this book as a child, I was shocked and a little dismayed to realize that the dog's name is RIBsy, not RISby as I had transposed it. I gave the book to my niece some years back and was quite amused to hear her refer to "Risby" just as I had! When I went to read the book aloud I was prepared to either stumble over the name every time I read it, or to go ahead and stick with my childhood error - but apparently I'm a better reader now, because it came out of my mouth as "Ribsy" every time! :)

[Mary Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

From page one, with his gloomy outlook on life and case of third grade ennui, you can't help but love Henry Huggins. His extreme propensity for accidents, combined with complete obliviousness, firmly cement Henry as one of the most memorable characters from children's lit... at least as far as I'm concerned. I remember reading about him in grade school, wishing I had a friend like him, and asking my mom for pet guppies. She said no. Fast forward a few years and now I'm a mother identifying with my own and Henry's (I giggled every time the poor woman said, "Oh, Henry." and Henry asked, "What? It was an accident..."). I was so happy when I discovered there are a total of six books about Henry and Ribsy, a couple of which I haven't read. I can't wait to read them with my son soon, and again when he's old enough to ask for pet guppies. I already know what I'm going to say.

[Tatevik · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a wonderful story! I love Beverly Cleary. Her writing is so pure and innocent. I will try to read all her works this year. They make me so happy!

[Haleigh DeRocher · Rating 4 out of 5]

My kindergartner has been loving these stories. Very well written and entertaining.

[J. Wootton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I couldn't remember why I couldn't remember anything about this book. So I reread it, & now I do: it's boring. "Nothing much" happens to Henry Huggins before his dog Ribsy shows up, and honestly, nothing much happens afterwards either!

Most episodes (chapters) feature Henry hoping to get out of things he doesn't want to do, like enact a character wearing pajamas in the school play, or working to earn enough money to buy something he wants, like a new football. Henry is driven by a simple sense of decency, envy, peer pressure, and desire for excitement; but these qualities are thoroughly average, and as the book never examines them or forces Henry through any real growth, the story itself remains thoroughly average. Meanwhile, none of the other characters are treated with any depth, nor does Henry (except once, for the space of half a line, in the last chapter) receive any insight into their inner worlds. Finally, the circumstances of Henry's childhood are quite dated - not one most kids could relate to anymore.

This book made me chuckle a few times, but it's not a keeper.

[Li · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book details the adventures of Henry Huggins and his new-found dog, Ribsy. I re-read this book in preparation of introducing it to my five-year-old nephew. First, let me just say that I'm a sucker for tales about a boy and his dog. The characters are so likeable, and they sure get into some fun messes. I also really liked the introduction to this book (added in 2000; it wasn't in the edition I read as a kid). My only criticism is that I wish the updated version wouldn't have specified the meat they got at the pet store for Ribsy was horse meat. I'm going to have to cover that up on pages 30, 122, 123, 164, and 173 in the 2007 paperback version with this same cover before I give it to my nephew. I have always been sensitive to stuff like that and am sure my nephew will be, too. I think it would have been just as good to say "meat" and not specify what kind for impressionable young minds. Other than that, I love this book and can't wait to share it with my nephew.

[Eliza · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read this with Theo (5) a few months ago in an optimistic beginning of reading chapter books aloud at night. I thought it might be a little "old" for him, but we both enjoyed it (I had not read it, although I've read most of her books). I have several others lined up for us (Stuart Little, Charlotte's Web, The Boxcar Children, Ramona the Pest, Ralph S. Mouse), I just need to get to it and keep at it. Bedtime is so crazy. Is there a better time to read chapter books out loud together? Ida (3) likes it too. Other suggestions for chapter books are welcome. Big print and multiple illustrations are good.

[giso0 · Rating 3 out of 5]

اولین کتاب بورلی کلیری
وقتی نویسنده مجبور بود کتابی رو بفروشه که فکر میکرد خودش بهتر از اون بلده بنویسه با به خاطر آوردن پسری که در دوران کارش در کتابخونه ازش پرسیده بود"پس کتابهایی که برای بچه هایی مثل ما باشن کجان؟" این کتاب رو درباره پسرهایی که دیده بود و می شناخت و برای اونها نوشت و اسمی رو برای شخصیت اصلیش انتخاب کرد که هی من رو یاد اون شخصیت نمایشنامه جورج برنارد شاو بندازه و اشتباهی هنری "هیگینز" بخونمش.
البته من سری رامونا رو بیشتر می پسندم و به نظرم از نظر توجه به مدل فکر کردن و دلایل کارها و کلا روانشناسی بچه ها یه سر و گردن از سری هنری بالاتره.
..
تصاویر نسخه هایی که من از این مجموعه داشتم گاهی بدون توجه به متن و سرسری کشیده شده بودن.

[Erica · Rating 5 out of 5]

My kids really enjoyed this one, plenty of laugh out loud moments.

[David Ward · Rating 4 out of 5]

Henry Huggins (Henry Huggins #1) by Beverly Cleary (Dell 1979) (Fiction - Children's) introduces the reader to a boy in the third grade in a small town where everyone knows everyone else, all the kids walk to the school on the corner, and all families have two parents with a stay-at-home mother. Henry, of course, is Everyboy in Everytown; his hometown combines the best parts of Mayberry from "The Andy Griffith Show", Lake Wobegon, "Leave It To Beaver" (except there's no Eddie Haskell), and "Brigadoon." The Henry Huggins series grew to include a number of characters and storylines; here we learn how Henry came to have a dog named Ribsy and neighbors who included Beatrice/Beezus and her pesky sister Ramona. To a young boy, this is great stuff! When I reread this book yesterday, I recognized every single one of these stories from the deepest removes of almost fifty years. Do yourself a favor: find a boy or girl who is eight years old, and put this book in his or her hands. Even better: put that child on your lap and enjoy this together. My rating: 8/10, finished 10/12/13.

[Dj · Rating 3 out of 5]

It seems somewhat surprising that I never read any of these books when I was growing up. It wasn't like they weren't around or anything. Still this was a part of childhood that I passed right by so it is somewhat surprising for me to be reading them now. I became interested in reading these after watching the Romna and Beezus movie which was pretty amusing. So in response to that I went and found the first book by the author and read it. I picked it up from the Library and had at it. I found the introduction somewhat amusing, it was fun to find out that the author once worked at the Yakima Library. An institution that I have spent a lot of time in when I lived in the town. Although she was no longer there when I was spending time there. The fact that she started trying to write books about girls, but wasn't able to was also interesting. I can say that she did a great job of making her first outing about a boy and I will most likely be reading more. Great kids book, but not limited to that.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first book Beverly Cleary ever wrote. It is a little dated here and there, but still a great book. I love that Henry has to do things on his own (such as find places for his guppies to live.) If Henry was my kid, I know I would just buy a tank for the guppies! There is a wonderful old-fashioned feel to these books.

The pictures are not the ones I remember. They have been completely redone. They are slightly more multicultural and show kids wearing bicycle helmets.