Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Henry Huggins
    Henry Huggins
    Henry Huggins
    Ebook133 pages1 hour

    Henry Huggins

    By Beverly Cleary and Jacqueline Rogers

    4/5

    ()

    Switch to audiobook
    Read preview

    About this ebook

    This timeless classic now features a foreword written by New York Times bestselling author Judy Blume, as well as an exclusive interview with Beverly Cleary herself! 

    In the first novel from Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary, boys and girls alike will be charmed instantly by an average boy whose life is turned upside down when he meets a lovable puppy with a nose for mischief.

    Just as Henry Huggins is complaining that nothing exciting ever happens, a friendly dog sits down beside him and looks pleadingly at his ice-cream cone. From that moment on, the two are inseparable. But when Ribsy's original owner appears, trying to reclaim his dog, Henry's faced with the possibility of losing his new best friend. Has Klickitat Street seen the last of rambunctious Ribsy?

     

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 6, 2009
    ISBN9780061972232
    Author

    Beverly Cleary

    Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up. Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born! Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.

    Read more from Beverly Cleary

    Related to Henry Huggins

    Titles in the series (7)

    View More
    View More

    Related ebooks

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      Tracy Baines

      Apr 2, 2020

      Tracy Baines
      5 min read

    • Article

      Lisa Jewell: ‘I Once Read 40 Agatha Christie Novels In A Year’

      Aug 11, 2023

      My earliest reading memoryAround four, sitting cross-legged on a swirly carpet in the lovely old library up the road from my childhood home, turning the pages of Ant and Bee and reading by myself for the first time. Also thinking it’s funny because m

      2 min read

    • Article

      Jane Corry

      Aug 6, 2020

      Jane Corry
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Happy Reader

      Nov 20, 2019

      I bloody love books. I’m the kind of person who keeps a stack of books teetering on the bedside table and arranges bookshelves by colour. I’ve got copies of my favourites on my Kindle so they’re always on my phone and, while I grew up on a steady die

      3 min read

    • Article

      In Conversation With HEIDI SWAIN

      Oct 26, 2023

      Hailed as the ‘Queen of feel-good fiction’, Heidi Swain’s heart-warming novels have made her a much-loved figure in the world of romantic fiction, exploring friendship, community, love and second chances. Heidi’s latest book, That Festive Feeling, se

      3 min read

    • Article

      I’m Going to Keep Writing: At 91, Lore Segal Is Still Going Strong

      Jun 17, 2019

      I still have a lot of curiosity, and a lot of celebration to do. It’s a lucky life. The post I’m Going to Keep Writing: At 91, Lore Segal Is Still Going Strong appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      Shelve This in Memoir: Confessions of a Teenage Bookseller

      Sep 5, 2022

      I’d begged my way into this job in the hopes that it might lead me closer to a literary life. And it would. Eventually. The post Shelve This in Memoir: Confessions of a Teenage Bookseller appeared first on The Millions.

      10 min read

    • Article

      FOMO, But For Books

      Jul 30, 2021

      My FOMO is particularly acute in the summer. When I go on vacation, I always take too many books with me. The haphazard reading of my childhood summers is gone, and sometimes I think I’m chasing it, when I pack too many books. The post FOMO, but for

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Lydia Kiesling

      Dec 20, 2020

      I realize that every time I write a Year in Reading I’m undergoing some psychic melodrama. The post A Year in Reading: Lydia Kiesling appeared first on The Millions.

      8 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Santiago Jose Sanchez

      Dec 21, 2021

      now that my novel has sold, I feel ready to take risks as I haven’t since my early 20s. I want more books, more sex, more writing, more love. There is so much more to life than protecting myself from—and I hate to say this—myself. The post A Year in

      7 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Oct 6, 2022

      Shelf Life
      3 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Liv Stratman

      Dec 16, 2021

      At the risk of coming across exactly like the smug shithead I really am (when I'm not pretending to be chill (ugh) so that men will like me), I admit here that I find the premise of a reading goal pretty lame. The post A Year in Reading: Liv Stratman

      6 min read

    • Article

      The Art of Fiction No. 255

      Sep 6, 2022

      The Art of Fiction No. 255
      29 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Grace Talusan

      Dec 20, 2019

      It wasn’t until I saw my husband almost trip multiple times as he tried to make his way through the obstacle course that I knew that I had a book problem. The post A Year in Reading: Grace Talusan appeared first on The Millions.

      5 min read

    • Article

      Shelf Life

      Nov 5, 2020

      by Hans Christian Andersen ‘I was an avid reader from a young age, and while I was really social and loved playing in the street with my friends, when I was inside I devoured books. There was something so powerful about a story’s ability to transport

      4 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: James Frankie Thomas

      Dec 6, 2023

      I confess that I don’t log or track the books I read, so I’m going on pure memory here. The post A Year in Reading: James Frankie Thomas appeared first on The Millions.

      4 min read

    • Article

      Requiem for a Reader

      Jul 28, 2017

      My first memory of my father as a reader was him telling me to hurry up; it was almost time to silflay. The post Requiem for a Reader appeared first on The Millions.

      12 min read

    • Article

      5 Minutes With... Geri Halliwell

      Oct 23, 2023

      She was one fifth of the biggest girl group of all time, the Spice Girls, and now GeriHalliwell-Horner is reaching a brandnew generation of fans in her latest book, Rosie Frost And The Falcon Queen. Drawing on some of her own personal experiences of

      2 min read

    • Article

      Falling In Love, By The Book

      May 18, 2021

      Falling In Love, By The Book
      4 min read

    • Article

      Winners Take All!

      Mar 7, 2024

      Congratulations to everyone who entered the Writing Magazine Children’s Book Prize 2023! There were 61 entries in the chapter book prize category and it was very tricky whittling them down. However, we are delighted to share our top three winning ent

      7 min read

    • Article

      A Year in Reading: Edan Lepucki

      Dec 9, 2018

      To start, a list of the books I enjoyed very, very much: I expected to like Lydia Kiesling’s debut novel, The Golden State, not only because she is my friend, but because I only made her be my friend after reading her genius nonfiction on this very w

      4 min read

    • Article

      Santa Montefiore

      Oct 1, 2020

      Santa Montefiore
      7 min read

    • Article

      Blake Morrison

      Sep 25, 2023

      Blake Morrison
      5 min read

    Reviews for Henry Huggins

    4/5

    418 ratings17 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 5/5
      From page one, with his gloomy outlook on life and case of third grade ennui, you can't help but love Henry Huggins. His extreme propensity for accidents, combined with complete obliviousness, firmly cement Henry as one of the most memorable characters from children's lit... at least as far as I'm concerned. I remember reading about him in grade school, wishing I had a friend like him, and asking my mom for pet guppies. She said no. Fast forward a few years and now I'm a mother identifying with my own and Henry's (I giggled every time the poor woman said, "Oh, Henry." and Henry asked, "What? It was an accident..."). I was so happy when I discovered there are a total of six books about Henry and Ribsy, a couple of which I haven't read. I can't wait to read them with my son soon, and again when he's old enough to ask for pet guppies. I already know what I'm going to say.
    • 5/5
      ONe of the best stories of a boy and his dog. My children loved it and I loved it. I had read this when I was a child and many memories came flooding back. What a wonderful story of kids interactions with their pets, each other and their parents.
    • 5/5
      This book is the first book in the Henry Huggins collection and is about Henry and the stray dog he finds, Ribsy. I really like this book. It is a great chapter book for those who are ready to move beyond the easy chapter books to chapters that are a little longer and there is very minimal illustration in this book, not to mention the adventures the boy and his dog get into! I have often heard that young boys have a difficult time finding good chapter books, and this is one book that I would recommend for two reasons: 1. it is about a boy and his adventures as a boy and 2. it is the first in a collection, so there is a good change the young men who choose to read this book will continue reading the books that follow. I recommend this book for my library (medium public library).
    • 4/5
      Henry adopts a homeless dog, Ribsy, and they have comic adventures together.I read this aloud to my 7-year-old son. Not quite as "deep" in terms of addressing growing-up issues as the Fudge books by Judy Blume and becoming a trifle dated now, but still lots of laughs to be had. My son insisted we move immediately on to the next book in the series, always a good sign.Read aloud in 2015.
    • 5/5
      I loved this book when I was a child. A great story about a boy and his dog.
    • 4/5
      A sweet book about a sweet boy and a dog he found. My 16 y.o. daughter cleaned off a shelf of books and kept all the Ramona books, but tossed the Henry Huggins' ones. I would recommend this book for 2nd and 3rd graders. The story is engaging, as are all the characters. The only thing I would say is that the story comes across as from a very different time, when kids could ride the bus by themselves, and treated each other with much more respect. There is a willingness to listen to the other point of view from your own and sympathize with it, even when it's to your advantage to NOT see the other side of things.
    • 4/5
      Cleary is known for her charming Ramona series, which brings to life a rambunctious girl, but she has a deft hand at capturing a young boy's perspective, too. The Mouse and the Motorcycle series, whose protagonist is Ralph S. Mouse, indicates her skill in that arena. This book features another boy, human this time - Henry Huggins. I had never read any of her Henry Huggins series prior to now, and am delighted to discover that she wrote another finely realized character.The book begins with a meeting of boy and dog. Henry is on his way home, when he decides to adopt a skinny dog he finds on the street. He calls his mom for permission, and is told that as long as he can get the dog home on the bus, he can keep it. His mom is too busy to come get them. Unfortunately, the bus line has a rule: no pets unless they're in a box. Henry, the youngster that he is, decides an empty grocer's box will do, and is frustrated when the driver says nay. In a stroke of genius, he hides the dog in a shopping bag, piles paper over him, and hopes for the best. The worst occurs. Somehow Henry and the dog make it home, but only after knocking down everyone on the bus, scattering their possessions, and then being escorted in a police car. Still, he gets the dog home, so he can keep it. Henry dubs his new dog Ribsy, because he is so thin his ribs show through his skin.The rest of the book regales the reader with more episodes like that of the first chapter. Henry is all enthusiasm and awkwardness. He embarks on adventures one would expect of a boy, such as saving money for a football, or entering his dog in a show. Often catastrophe ensues, not because Henry means any ill, but because he is young and still doesn't grasp all the consequences of his actions. He is a sweet boy, though, and while he may cause his parents a bit of frustration, everything comes out right in the end. I liked the book and could definitely read more about Henry. His expeditions are funny and innocent. They certainly remind me of the simplicity of childhood, and how things that I often overlook now were so important back then. Henry's character is engaging, and Ribsy is such a dog. Cleary has a knack for writing about children and animals. I'm excited to read the Henry and Beezus book, where characters from two great series will overlap. This story is a great choice for children and adults.
    • 4/5
      An older book that has stood the test of time - funny with situations that kids this age can still relate to. My son and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it together.
    • 4/5
      this book is GREAT it's the best book I have ever read!!!
    • 5/5
      I never did read much Cleary growing up...but since the Girl is having some trouble getting into book, I thought this might be a good one for her...and I was right, she absolutely LOVED it. Henry Huggins (like How to Eat Fried Worms) is a bit dated, since it was written in 1949, but the overall feel and character of the story is pretty much timeless. We are presented with a typical neighborhood, family, kids, neighbors of the time that, despite the way we live life today, is presented in a way that is still accessible to kids today (even those not living in suburban neighborhoods. Henry is a typical boy who wants a bit of excitement in his life...and finds it while browsing at the local convenience store, in the form of Ribsy as skinny mutt who he decides to take home (with his mother's permission of course)...on the BUS! This is first of 5 adventures that Henry and Ribsy encounter as they go on through the book (we also get raising guppies, catching thousands of night crawlers, a charming look at Christmas pageants and snow from a 9 year olds perspective, the dog show, and the prospect of Henry having to give up Ribsy). Each is charming and still endearing more than 50 years after it was originally written. We are presented with stories that show Henry as honest and hard working, we learn to have compassion for others and that doing the right thing is always important...all in a humorous and realistic way that doesn't feel like the message is being shoved down our throats! I give it a solid A, even after 50+ years, Henry Huggins is fine reading for 8-10 year olds!
    • 3/5
      Although Henry has fun going to the Y and swimming and things, he feels like nothing exciting ever happens to him. But then one day he meets a stray, thin, rambunctious dog and names him Ribsy. Little does Henry know of all the excitement he'll be in for now in Henry Huggins by author Beverly Cleary.Wow! I've read a couple of other Henry books before, but I didn't know (or didn't remember?) that this one is actually the first book Cleary ever had published, back in good ol' 1950.It's a fun and pleasant read overall, and a little nostalgic for a reader like me. Typewriters, telephone booths where you can make a call for a nickel, and a young hero who says things like, "Gee, Dad, that's swell!" Yeah, I laughed out loud a couple good times (Henry is hilarious for trying to write that letter), and it was great to see sisters Beezus (Beatrice) and Ramona where they actually first appear in a book. Been there all the time, but, hey, it's new to me!I'm like the author in that the Ramona books that come later are my favorites of Cleary's work. But what a nice introduction this book is to Henry, Ribsy, and the gang on Klickitat Street.
    • 5/5
      Summary: This book is about a boy named Henry Huggins. He is always bored until one day he comes across a stray dog. He ends up naming this dog Ribsy because the dog is so skinny. This is when the adventure for Henry begins. He first has to try to get this dog home which presents many challenges for Henry. His adventures continue through the book and Henry is never bored again. Response: I loved reading this book especially for my love of dogs. Connection: Read Aloud; Kids would enjoy the humor in this book and would be able to relate to this book. Every kid loves animals and adventure!
    • 5/5
      When young Henry Huggins finds Ribsy, the thin abandoned dog, on the street, he does not know what he is in for.
    • 5/5
      Read this and the whole series in 3rd Grade… timeless.
    • 5/5
      Always fun for my 6 y.o. Son
    • 4/5
      Beverly Cleary's first book, "Henry Huggins" holds up remarkably well in 2021, considering it was published in 1950. The most notable element dating it is that Henry frequently goes to the pet shop to buy horse meat to feed his dog. (Pretty sure no pet shop today would sell horse meat!)It is a simple collection of six short story-like chapters about 3rd grader Henry Huggins, and his dog, Ribsy. The chapters are a little funny, a little sweet, and very much in tune with the way kids that age behave, be it 1950 or today.
    • 3/5
      to me this book is not has great has everyone says it is. The rest of the books like Ellen Tibbets and Ribsy and so on are better.This book didnt have me going unlike it's sequel.

    Book preview

    Henry Huggins - Beverly Cleary

    INTRODUCTION

    When I was the age of readers of my books I always skipped the introduction because I was so eager to get at the story. Then, if I enjoyed what I had read, I returned to what I should have read in the first place. If I did not enjoy the book, I ignored the introduction because I was not interested in what the author had to say. Now I find myself writing an introduction to Henry Huggins, the book that was my first attempt at writing (I don’t count school assignments) fifty years ago. Please feel free to skip, but if you do I hope you will return to it.

    What can I tell you about this book? First of all, back in 1949 when I wrote it, I was surprised to have written it at all. Although I had dreamed of writing since childhood, I had no clear idea of what I should say. I assumed I would write about a girl. After all, I had been a girl, hadn’t I? Authors should write about what they know.

    Finally when I was in my early thirties the day came when the desire to write had gnawed at me long enough. I had been working in a bookstore during the Christmas rush where I was faced with trying to sell a book about a puppy that said, Bow-wow. I like the green grass. No dog I had known could talk like that. I knew I could write a better book.

    I sat at an old kitchen table in an otherwise empty bedroom—and sat and sat—without a single thing to say about a girl. I watched the twittering birds in a eucalyptus tree. I let the cat out. I let the cat in. I doodled miserably with a few sentences about a girl and decided if I didn’t enjoy what I was writing no one could enjoy reading it. I seemed to have spent my own childhood reading library books or embroidering tea towels. Should I forget about writing? Not yet. I sat until I found myself thinking about a group of boys I had worked with when I was a children’s librarian in Yakima, Washington. These lively nonreaders were sent to the library once a week from nearby St. Joseph’s School for help in selecting books that their teacher felt might be more interesting to them than their textbooks. They came marching sedately two by two until they came to the basement steps to the boys and girls’ room. Then they broke ranks and jumped. I was expected to find books that would capture their interest, and they were expected to read and tell me about those books the next week.

    This turned out to be more difficult than I had expected. There was very little on the library shelves those boys wanted to read. Finally one of them burst out, and the other agreed, Where are the books for kids like us? Where indeed. There weren’t any. I did the best I could with dog stories, which they found acceptable if the dog did not die at the end, or bear stories.

    Ten years had passed since I had known those boys. I sat at the typewriter I had bought at the time because someday I was going to be a writer. I mused about those boys and all the boys I had ever known, boys from families with modest incomes who lived in neighborhoods of old houses, lawns, and tree-lined streets, boys who did not have scary adventures but who made their own excitement.

    Inspiration came. Forget about girls. I would write a book about a boy, a boy named Henry Huggins, a name that seemed to be waiting in my mind. Henry would have a dog, an ordinary city mutt because dog stories so often seemed to be about noble country dogs. The story I wrote came out of a dilemma described to me by a harried mother whose children tried to take a dog home on the streetcar. I soon discovered the pleasure of rearranging reality to suit myself. Two children became one, the streetcar became a bus, and so on. I also discovered I did not know how to write a story, but I did know how to tell one. In my imagination I told the story to my former Yakima story audience and wrote it down as I told it. After all, I thought, what is writing for young readers but storytelling?

    With a light heart I sent off my little story to a publisher known to be interested in easy reading books. As soon as it was in the mail I found I was still thinking about Henry, and my mind was a scrap bag of ideas from which I was pulling out a jumble of ideas from memories, incidents others had told me, newspaper articles, snatches of overheard conversations, the world around me, all of which were nudging my imagination.

    The manuscript was promptly returned with—this was a surprise—an encouraging letter telling me I should write a number of stories, send them to magazines, and then weave them into a book-length plot. Well! Apparently I was better than I thought I was, but I had no interest in magazines. Instead I sat down and wrote five more stories about Henry, one chapter a week. This time I wrote in longhand and still do because I dislike typing. Then, surprised to have written about a boy and with some misgivings about the last chapter, I laboriously typed the manuscript and mailed it to Morrow Junior Books because the editor, Elisabeth Hamilton, had a reputation in the bookstore of being the smartest editor in the business.

    This time I watched the mail so anxiously that the mailman asked what I was waiting for and became equally interested. After six weeks of shaking his head he finally bypassed the mailbox and came to the door waving an envelope. A letter! My manuscript was not rejected. Someone had written a letter.

    Elisabeth Hamilton wrote saying they were very much interested in my manuscript but would I consider making changes, particularly in the last chapter. Of course I would. The changes turned out to be minor, even in the chapter which was quickly straightened out with the help of Elisabeth’s tactful suggestions. When I returned the manuscript Elisabeth wrote a letter of acceptance telling me Henry Huggins would be one of the exciting publications of the fall season. With that letter, my first acceptance of many, I became, in the words children were to use for the next fifty years, a real live author.

    1

    HENRY AND RIBS

    Henry Huggins was in the third grade. His hair looked like a scrubbing brush and most of his grown-up front teeth were in. He lived with his mother and father in a square white house on Klickitat Street. Except for having his tonsils out when he was six and breaking his arm falling out of a cherry tree when he was seven, nothing much happened to Henry.

    I wish something exciting would happen, Henry often thought.

    But nothing very interesting ever happened to Henry, at least not until one Wednesday afternoon in March. Every Wednesday after school Henry rode downtown on the bus to go swimming at the Y.M.C.A. After he swam for an hour, he got on the bus again and rode home just in time for dinner. It was fun but not really exciting.

    When Henry left the Y.M.C.A. on this particular Wednesday, he stopped to watch a man tear down a circus poster. Then, with three nickels and one dime in his pocket, he went to the corner drugstore to buy a chocolate ice cream cone. He thought he would eat the ice cream cone, get on the bus, drop his dime in the slot, and ride home.

    That is not what happened.

    He bought the ice cream cone and paid for it with one of his nickels. On his way out of the drugstore he stopped to look at funny books. It was a free look, because he had only two nickels left.

    He stood there licking his

    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1