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3.87 AVERAGE
3.87 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Probably the best of HH (maybe because Ramona was around haha). Some dated concepts, but it was the 1960s. Fun times and my favorite of the series.
Henry finally got his paper route in the last book, but now he feels the pressure of selling subscriptions. He's waiting for someone to move into the empty house in his neighborhood so he'll have a new customer. In the meantime, he and his friends build their own clubhouse.
Ramona is very prevalent in this book, and she's quite the character. (She won't have her first solo book for six more years.) Henry is growing up though, so his interactions with Ramona are more brotherly than kids bugging each other, as it was in the earlier books. The ending of this book has a very touching scene between the two of them.
Ramona is very prevalent in this book, and she's quite the character. (She won't have her first solo book for six more years.) Henry is growing up though, so his interactions with Ramona are more brotherly than kids bugging each other, as it was in the earlier books. The ending of this book has a very touching scene between the two of them.
Beverly Cleary was a huge part of my childhood. I read a bunch of her books in grade school. I know I read this one in November of 1981 because I mentioned it in my diary from that time.
I quite liked this one - except for Henry dressing up like an "angry Indian" for Halloween.
I liked this book. I liked Henry's growth during the story. I admired how he learned to handle Ramona. I have one problem with this book. At the end Henry ends up in the paper for doing a good deed. His big focus after learning this is how his father will react to seeing him in the paper. He talks about how much he needs his father's approval and how happy he is when his father says he is proud of him. This is totally out of left field I feel. In none of the other books or at any point prior to this happening at the end of this book has Henry every mentioned or implied that there is tension/trouble between him and his father. At one point his father does explain to him how important his paper route is when he ends up distracted by something else and his mom ends up doing his paper route for him but nothing else indicates a problem between Henry and his father. I didn't like this tacked on bit to the story.
Another great Henry adventure - Sabrina loved the clubhouse password and the adventures with Mes. Peabody, and Ramona as a pest always keeps us entertained.
Henry Huggins eventually was eclipsed by Ramona, but I kind of love him here. He's just a decent kid doing his best, dealing with whatever life throws at him, and still eccentric enough that the thrills of riding to the dump in an old bathtub are everything for him.
When you want to just chill out in your childhood....what a delight to find that Neil Patrick Harris is narrating.
Well, you win some you lose some. I can see Cleary developing as a writer, but a lot more of the dumb girls stuff attitude that could have been resolved better. OTOH, Ramona came up with the perfect punishment and is growing more likable, so rounded up to 3 stars.
This is my favorite Henry Huggings book every since I bought it from the Weekly Reader Book Club in 1962 as an 8 year old. It is also my favorite because that same summer of '62 my family built a clubhouse in our backyard. It was an awesome place to play throughout my childhood but we allowed girls to play in it unlike Henry and his pals. Finally it was nice to see the author create a Ramona storyline that was positive, unlike the previous books in the series where she was just trouble for Henry. I'd recommend this book to readers 7-8 years and older.