Henry Huggins series, by Beverly Cleary
Henry Huggins won the hearts of boys and girls alike when his stories debuted in the 1950s. Eight years old when the series started, Henry and his best friend, Ribsy, lived on Klickatat Street in Portland, Oregon. Even though the series was written over 60 years ago, Beverly Cleary made these books about a young boy and his rescued dog into timeless classics by telling stories about dog shows, paper routes, earning money, getting lost, solving misunderstandings, and hero worship. Children today can read these books as though no time has passed.
Book 1: Henry Huggins
One day, after swimming lessons, a skinny dog follows Henry Huggins into the drug store and begs for his ice cream cone. Seeing no collar or tags, Henry decides that the dog is homeless. He calls his mother and gets permission to keep the dog if he can get him home on the bus. No animals are allowed on buses unless they are tied up in a box with air holes. Henry can’t find a box that’s big enough so he ties Ribsy up in a large grocery sack. Ribsy is not happy. He breaks out of the bag and starts running around the bus just as a police car stops the bus. Henry thinks he’s getting arrested, but the officers are there to take him home. Before Ribsy, Henry had wished for a little excitement. After Ribsy, Henry seems to have all the excitement he can handle. Ribsy and a can of green paint help Henry escape being the lead in the Christmas play. At the local dog show, Ribsy wins the “Most Unusual Dog” award. When Ribsy’s original owners come to claim him, they decide to leave the decision up to Ribsy.
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Book 2: Henry and Beezus
Scooter McCarthy has a new red bicycle with shiny spokes. Henry Huggins feels quite jealous and decides to earn money for a new bike that’s shinier than Scooter’s. When Scooter goes to scout camp, Henry jumps at the chance to work Scooter’s paper route. It means a whole dollar for the fund, but Henry has a problem! He just taught Ribsy to retrieve the paper, and now Ribsy retrieves every paper in the neighborhood. Ramona discovers that a squirt bottle filled with water solves the problem. Henry earns more bike money when he finds 49 boxes of bubblegum balls tossed in a vacant lot. With $4.04 in hand, Henry goes to a police auction in hopes of buying his dream bike. His plans don’t work out, but then he wins $50 in beauty shop coupons from the Colossal Market’s Grand Opening. Maybe, he’ll have the bike of his dreams after all- a bike with a horn and a racoon tail hanging from the handlebars.
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Book 3: Henry and Ribsy
When Henry asks his father if he can go salmon fishing, Mr. Huggins says he can if he keeps Ribsy out of trouble until then. Henry knows it will be difficult, but he’ll give his best effort. Trying to protect Henry’s “property,” Ribsy growls at the garbage man every time he comes to collect the trash. Then, Scooter McCarthy tells everyone that Ribsy bit the man. Henry has a hard time redeeming Ribsy’s reputation. Then, there’s the disagreement between Ribsy and Ramona. Ribsy steals and eats Ramona’s ice cream cone. Ramona retaliates by stealing his bone and carrying it to the top of the school’s jungle gym. As Ribsy stands up on the jungle gym to keep track of his bone, the P.T.A. ladies think that he chased her up there and won’t let her down. Luckily this misunderstanding is straightened out, and Henry gets to go fishing. Trouble really strikes when Ribsy causes Mr. Grumbie to lose a big salmon. How will Henry get out of this disaster?
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Book 4: Henry and the Paper Route
When Scooter McCarthy tells Henry that a paper route has opened up, Henry rides right over to Mr. Capper’s house to get the job before anyone else. On the way, he passes a yard sale and stops to look around. He can’t resist buying four cuddly kittens. Hiding them in his jacket, Henry goes on to Mr. Capper’s house. When he arrives, the kittens wake up and start moving around. Thinking that any boy who carries kittens in his jacket is too young and irresponsible to have a paper route, Mr. Capper tells Henry to come back when he’s older. Henry determines to redeem his reputation and prove his responsibility. He finds homes for the kittens and helps his school in their annual paper drive. Finally, Henry turns eleven and gets a paper route. Unfortunately, Ramona picks up every paper he delivers. A robot head becomes an integral part of his plan to outsmart her.
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Book 5: Henry and the Clubhouse
One boring Saturday afternoon, Henry Huggins sees Mr. and Mrs. Grumbie moving their bathtub into a U-Haul trailer. He helps them, and Mr. Grumbie asks Henry if he wants to ride in the bathtub to the dump. Henry eagerly accepts. He pretends to be the President of the United States waving at the crowds watching him along the parade route. Route! He forgot all about his paper route. When Henry gets home, he finds his mother delivering his papers. Mr. Huggins warns Henry never to forget his route again. Henry promises that, in the future, he will be a very dependable and responsible person. As usual, things come along to make Henry’s promise hard to keep. When Ramona locks Henry in the clubhouse, he has to tell her some secrets in order to get out in time for his paper route. Then, Henry must enlist the help of Ramona’s T.V. hero to keep her from sharing the secrets. Ramona’s pestering turns to hero worship as she follows Henry everywhere. One day, Ramona gets tired after following Henry through deep snowdrifts. Henry stops delivering papers to take her home. Instead of getting into trouble, Henry gets praised in the paper.
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Book 6: Ribsy
When Henry’s family drives their new car to the shopping center, Ribsy runs behind them for four blocks. Afraid that the near-exhausted Ribsy will get run over by traffic, Henry convinces his parents to let Ribsy ride in the car. While the family is shopping, Ribsy accidentally pushes the automatic window opener. Ribsy jumps out of the car and begins exploring. The rain washes away all of the scents and keeps Ribsy from finding the car. When he finds a new station wagon with an open window, Ribsy jumps in. He is very surprised and bewildered when four little girls get in the car. They take him home and give him a bath with a whole bottle of lilac bubble bath. Ribsy escapes as soon as he can and spends the next month finding his way home. He spends time with a widow, a second-grade class, and a football player. Ribsy is out on an apartment house fire escape when Henry Huggins finds him.
