Amazon.com Review
Nothing ever happens to Henry Huggins. Nothing, that is, until a stray dog named Ribsy comes into his life. Pretty soon, Henry and Ribsy are wreaking havoc on the city bus, getting a ride in a police car with sirens wailing, and winning a prize at the dog show. Thanks to their joint shenanigans, Henry finds himself covered in green paint one day, and later accidentally colors Ribsy's fur pale pink. One week, Henry catches earthworms for his fisherman neighbor to raise money for a borrowed ball Ribsy helped him lose. One football costs a lot of earthworms--1,395, to be exact. Plus 41 worms for tax. Life is no longer dull.
Beverly Cleary's lively, award-winning books virtually shout "good, old-fashioned fun!" Since 1950, Henry and his friends (found in Beezus and Ramona and Newbery Honor Book Ramona and Her Father, among others) have displayed all the mixed-up emotions and tricky jams kids everywhere seem to experience. Henry's action-packed days are captured in droll line drawings by Louis Darling. Luckily for young readers, there are dozens of Cleary books to explore as soon as this one is devoured. (Ages 8 to 12) --Emilie Coulter
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Cleary provides a warm, autobiographical introduction to this excellent adaptation of her first book, which was originally published in 1950. Actor Harris (Doogie Howser, M.D.) has enthusiasm to spare in his lively take on Cleary's endearing and humorous work. Third-grader Henry Huggins, who has hair that "looks like a scrubbing brush," is a pretty ordinary kid a little too ordinary in his opinion. Henry wants some excitement in his life. One day, excitement arrives in the form of a skinny stray dog that befriends Henry at the drugstore. Boy and pooch bond instantly when Henry offers his ice cream cone to the dog, who downs it in one gulp. Henry calls his four-legged pal Ribsy, for obvious reasons, and with more than a little effort and confusion, brings the lovable pet home to his family's house on Klickitat Street via city bus and then police car. Harris proves a versatile performer taking on a whole community of friendly voices, including Henry's exasperated but supportive parents and memorable neighbors Beezus and Ramona. He nails Henry's sense of innocent wonder and his sweet, honest demeanor in every scene, employing an authentic boyish delivery that can amuse as well as tug at the heart just like Cleary's writing. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
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