Henry and Beezus

Wonderful classic book -- however, the edition we received was not the one pictured.

This is one of those children's books that grownups love to read to children and children love to read over and over again. We're into a third generation of Beverly Cleary fans. This book is especially great if you've been struggling to find something to read to a six year old boy!

Oh how we love Henry Huggins! My daughter (age 8) just adores these books! Our most recent read, Henry and Beezus didn't disappoint. Told in the same chapter style as the previous books, we start out with Henry and is dog getting into more trouble...this time with the neighbors and their roast and where Henry swears to his friends that he'll have a bike as nice as Scooter's. From there we follow Henry on a raccous, fun-filled set of adventures which involve him striking gum gold, untraining Ribsy to fetch the paper (hileraious), a dog and his parking ticket, an awesome and funny bike auction, and finally the boy who ate dog food! In this group of stories, Ramona and her sister are also key players in each adventure and they lend a nice touch to this particular set of stories. Will Henry get that spiffy red bike he's got his eye on? Will he ever save enough money...or will Ribsy and Ramona "help" him right out of his chance to get it? Since this story, like others in the series, was written in the 1950's, it has a dated "leave it to beaver" feel...but that's also a great deal of the charm. They are clean cut, the kid's respet their parents and take their problems to them...and whey they get in trouble, even though they somtiems lie...there is always discussion and rational solving of the issues. I like that and apparently so does my daughter. I give it an A+, another classic that is sure to keep right on pleasing kids for years to come!

On a scale of one to ten Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary is a twenty. That is why I am going to try to persuade you to read this wonderful book. The first reason you should read this book is because once you pick it up you just cannot put it down. It has so many funny things that happen to Henry, Beezus, and Ramona that you cannot wait to read what happens next. Now I am going to tell you a little about this book. It is about a boy, Henry, who wants a new bicycle. His parents cannot afford to buy him one so he decides to find a way to get the money himself. If you want to know how he gets the money you will have to read the book. But don't think that reading a book about a boy that gets money to get a bike is boring. In this book Beverly Cleary makes it so much more interesting. So if you want a book that you can read that will bring the kid side out of you again, read Henry and Beezus by Beverly Cleary.

In a time when kids had to work hard to get what they wanted, Henry wanted a bike, and got it...in a most unusual and creative way. This is a charming book that portrays a humorous, realistic, unsentimental friendship between a boy and a girl.

The audio book version of this wonderful children's book, well done by the excellent "Listening Library" company, is complete and unabridged. I know, I bought it. Look closely at the photo and you can see that this is true. If you want the book, I recommend the beautiful "library binding" hardcover. Strip off the dustjacket, and find a perfectly faithful reproduction of the 1950s original. Henry and Beezus is my favorite of all the Beverly Cleary books. My three kids love it. It's the kind of children's book they just don't make anymore. Like Encyclopedia Brown, and other traditional American heroes of his ilk, Henry Huggins is great kid, friendly, kind, just, responsible, bright, and forgiving. He's short on cash at the moment, and can't afford a bike like the other kid on the block, but Henry displays a naturally independent spirit and even----hold your breath----entrepreneurial initiative. He persists in all that he endeavors, rolling with the punches, and shrugging off life's little humiliations, even as they sting inside. He's all the things that made America great, but that seem (let's face it) to have gone out of fashion in this whiny New Age of anti-capitalist political correctness. But perhaps the American soul still breathes, as long as a book like this is still in print.