Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary

I hadn’t read Henry Huggins since I was young so I was delighted that it was the February Kewaunee Library Youth book club pick.  I read it in the evenings with Daniel.  Daniel (8 years old, in 3^rd grade) was a bit grumpy reading it as it took away from his Harry Potter time, but Henry Huggins managed to wring a few chuckles from him as well.

Henry Huggins is basically a series of scrapes that young Henry finds himself in.  Each chapter is like its own short story.  The book starts with Henry finding a dog downtown, Ribsby, and trying to figure out how to get it home so he can keep him.  It is an amusing tale.

One thing that amazed me as we read the book was Henry’s freedom around town.  He’s eight years old by himself downtown taking City buses home.  I looked up when it was published and it was the 1950’s.  It’s hard to imagine now letting your child go downtown at that age by themselves on a city bus.  Is this a good or a bad thing?

Overall, I enjoyed the stories of Henry’s life and loved the 1950’s setting.  I thought it was humorous.  I remember as a kid I enjoyed the rest of the books in this series too.  Daniel was not as fond of it as myself as it was not Harry Potter.  I highly recommend it for anyone looking for an entertaining and funny middle grade reader.

Did you read any Beverly Cleary books as a kid?  If so, what were your favorites?

Book Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library