I have had my three girls home with me all summer. We have some afternoon activities and we will drive to the lake/pool, so there is plenty of time in the Odyssey. We have been listening to some of Beverly Cleary’s Henry Huggins books while we drive around.

Henry and Ribsy is the third book in the Henry Huggins series. Henry is a young boy who lives in Oregon with his parents and his dog Ribsy. There are many other children on Henry’s street, and there is always something happening. Ribsy has always played a supporting role in the Henry books, but in this book, Ribsy’s actions have more of an impact on the plot. Henry wants to go salmon fishing with his father, but he needs to prove that he is responsible and that he can keep Ribsy out of trouble. Will Henry be able to go fishing with his father? Read more

My three girls and I have been listening to the Henry Huggins series in the car. A couple of years ago, Audible had a great sale and I picked up most of Beverly Cleary’s book for about $4 apiece. The girls had not really been interested in listening to the books before, but we have been reading the Ramona books, and they recognized Henry as one of the minor characters from the Ramona series. He’s much older than Ramona, so they don’t really cross paths in her books, but she plays the role of young antagonist in his books. This was enough for them, and they were sold.

Henry and Beezus is the second book in the Henry Huggins series. Henry is a ten-year-old boy living in Oregon. He has a dog named Ribsy, and many neighborhood friends. There are many small incidents throughout the book, but the main theme revolves around Henry’s attempts to earn enough money to buy a bike. This proves to be rather difficult, and involves dubious schemes like finding boxes of gum in a vacant lot and selling it to his friends at school. Will Henry ever be able to earn the money for a bicycle of his very own? Read more