My boys absolutely love Henry Huggins. These books may be over fifty years old, but the world of Klickitat Street still rings true. Families still have dogs. Little sisters are still pests. Neighbor kids still have squabbles. And boys still have dreams. Henry and the Paper Route, ten-year-old Henry Huggins dreams of having a paper […]
Dear Mr. Henshaw, by Beverly Cleary, Book Review
Dear Mr. Henshaw is Beverly Cleary’s highest award-winner, capturing the Newbery and Christopher Awards in the early 80’s, yet it is one of my least favorites. Written as a series of letters and journal entries, with absolutely no narration, Mrs. Cleary somehow, miraculously, weaves together a plot, a central-California setting and a well-rounded character. This accomplishment […]
Ramona and her Father, by Beverly Cleary, 1977, Book Review
Ramona and Her Father is another installment in the life of the Quimbys. Within, Mrs. Cleary maintains her characteristic anecdotal style, but she’s tied her chapters more fully together to give us a glimpse inside the mind of this precocious child. And to our surprise, we find a regular girl with logical reasons for her outlandish behavior. Ramona is […]