Henry Huggins by Beverly Cleary
Post number forty-eight is for Beverly Cleary's Henry Huggins. This was another requirement for my History of Children's Literature course, and one that I actually didn't mind reading. It was a fast read; I actually finished it this evening while watching the Criminal Minds marathon on A&E, and even with only reading mostly during commercials, I still finished it in three episodes.
Brief thoughts follow.
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I thought this book was really cute. Henry is just your typical boy (and even though this book was written in 1950, I still think it fits in well with today's society, aside from the fact that Henry would have had to pay a lot more money for his fish, football, etc. nowadays), and it was fun to see his adventures. It's funny that he equates his more exciting life to Ribsy. While this is mostly true, I think what Ribsy actually supplies Henry with is more drama and trouble. :-P I especially loved how Ribsy helped Henry get out of the dreaded "little boy Timmy" role in the school Christmas play.
I have to admit that, prior to this, I had never read a Beverly Cleary book. I have seen The Mouse and the Motorcycle (I think we watched it in elementary school, although I don't remember reading the book itself), but for some reason, I was just never drawn to her books, even though I am sure they were recommended to me. Now that I have read this one, though, I think it will be fun to continue reading in this universe; her children seem so full of life and true to form that I will no doubt find them charming.
Read and Reviewed 