Old Henry [Paperback]

Joan W. Blos (Author), Stephen Gammell (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 3 and up | Grade Level: K and up

The neighbors aren't too happy about Henry and his beat-up old house. Why doesn't he clean it up, and weed his garden and sweep his walk? Henry's got better things to do. Tired of being bothered, he finally gets fed up and moves away. The funny thing is, nobody's really happy when he does--not the neighbors, and not Henry. Here is a wise and witty tale about different kinds of people learning to get along.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

When Old Henry sees a ramshackle house, he decides to move in, birds and all. His furniture seems to go with the place; he feels at home. But the neighbors expect Old Henry to fix up the house and yardexpectations he ignores, thank you very much. They try everything to persuade him, but even the bribe of a hot pie won't get Old Henry to clean up. Tired of being nagged, he leaves town. Then the townspeople feel lost without him and, wherever it is that Old Henry is, he misses them, too. A letter to the mayor sets the wheels in motion for him to return home (but he'll mend the gate and shovel the snow). This compromise is a little disappointing; young readers will probably have loved Old Henry the way he was and may wish the neighbors would get off his back! In fact, Henry's honesty and happiness make this a heroic story until the ending, which some may find sentimental. Without undermining the text, the rainbow-hued watercolor and pencil drawings exalt the simple affirmations of the story, with characters both comic and poignant. Gammell demonstrates again that he is one of themost gifted illustrators working today.
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

Grade 1-3Old Henry , told in verse, relates the interactions of a stubborn individualist and his neighbors in a small town. When Henry moves in to a dilapidated old house, his new neighbors look forward to his fixing it up. When he is content to leave it as it is, his neighbors become upset. The mayor suggests that they try being nice, ``please, try it twice.'' But their efforts are rebuffed. Eventually Henry leaves. While the neighbors begin to question their actions, Henry also realizes he misses them. The story ends with his letter to the mayor seeking a compromise, and younger children may have problems with the lack of closure to the story. Yet the book raises interesting questions about individual freedom versus community responsibility and would be useful for a discussion of these ideas at home or school. Gammell's softly colored pencil drawings give Henry more character than is brought out in the text, with his jaunty railroad cap and mismatched socks. There are no solid blocks of color to be found here. Every surface glows with a prism of hues, as though to emphasize the many facets to be found in both Henry and his neighbors and the world they share. Judith Gloyer, Milwaukee Public Library
Copyright 1987 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 3 and up
  
• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (August 22, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0688099351
• ISBN-13: 978-0688099350
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 10.1 x 0.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #136,030 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old Henry, December 1, 1999

By 

RYAN HERMAN - See all my reviews

This review is from: Old Henry (Paperback)

Old Henry is a great childrens book that also has a moral. The moral of the story is that you should not judge a person for how they look, dress, or live but how they are as a person. The neighbor's of Henry in the story do just this and drive Henry to move away. The neighbors end up missing him and feel guilty about how they treated him. A child can learn a lot from the book.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is perfectly all right to be different, even eccentric!, December 12, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Old Henry (Paperback)

A most unusual children's book, Old Henry can be enjoyed by adults as well as children. The illustrations are particularly lovely and subtle; this book can be looked at many times, for the pictures alone. Old Henry is especially suitable for a child with learning disabilities and/or a language problem, or any child he feels he "doesn't fit in." The text is in rhymed verse, making it easier to follow the rhythm of the spoken word, and especially suitable for reading out loud. Also, the message of the book is that it is all right to be different or eccentric, even a hermit (in fact, Old Henry is something of a "slob," who doesn't maintain the house he has moved into. He prefers to paint or read.) Henry knows who he is, and how he wishes to spend his time, and he isn't bothering anybody. In fact, when he moves away (the neighbors pester him mercilessly to conform to their ways), the people in the town discover that they really miss this rugged individualist! In a society where everyone is strongly encouraged to conform, Old Henry is a refreshing reminder that it is all right to be eccentric. Your child will love hearing that from you!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Old Henry, I want to be like you!, June 20, 2003

By 

Mark E. Morelli (Cuyahoga Falls, OH USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Old Henry (Paperback)

It may not last forever, but this book has momentarily knocked Sherwood Anderson's "Winesburg, Ohio" into second place. "Old Henry" is now my favorite all time book, even after having owned it for about seven years. Oh, I used to read it all the time to the kids, but the moment I realized this book is now, for the time being, my all-time favorite book, is when I sat in the emergency room late one recent Saturday night.

My wife was in another room, discovering she had a broken foot from a slip earlier that day on a basement floor made wet by water leaking in through the walls.

I spend far too much time doing home maintenance these days, mopping up wet basement floors, calculating how the house will be sided or painted, deciding whether topaint or replace a garage door, trimming hedges and yanking weeds.

All of these ridiculous, no-win chores simply chip away at the time I want for reading, writing and drawing. It is not enough that parenthood justly requires so much time and energy -- we signed on for that -- but the treadmill that is home maintenance is a horror for anyone who likes to sit by the bird feeder and read magazines.

I envy, then, Old Henry, who wants only to move in, leave things be, and read and draw while his neighbors are concerned about the length of his grass.

My uncle once explained to me why he barely ever trims his bushes. "I want them to express themselves," he said, comparing his free-flowing shrubs to the neighbors' which were stiff and buzzcut as military sentries.

So I used to read "Old Henry" for my kids. Now it is at my bedside, along with the magazines and feng shui books, all reminders that if I want to nurture my mind, I'll have to give up the landscaping and such, and while the water in the basement must be mopped up lest anyone else break a bone, that we actually do have the freedom to surrendur to nature, let it grow and grow around us, and in that sweet surrendur, curl up defeatedly with a book.