Robert Quackenbush (1929–2021)

Poor Henry the Duck! What starts out as a simple plan to get rid of an ant in his kitchen before his friend Clara arrives for dinner (he fears that if she sees the ant, she'll think his house isn't clean) soon becomes a much larger problem. This was one of my favourite books growing up, and I still find it very relatable. Who hasn't had the experience of seeing one small, seeming simple decision turn into a big mistake? This story helps readers to consider the consequences of their actions show more in a light-hearted, humourous way.

The illustrations are terrific, especially showing Henry's facial expressions and action scenes such as water exploding from a pipe and Henry's collision with the kitchen table that sends all the food into the air. Very colourful and dynamic, the illustrations tell the story clearly even without the text. The second to last illustration with the ant following Henry away from his flooded house is perfect and hilarious! show less

Ill-fated Henry the Duck attempts to bring a birthday cake to his friend Clara's party, but keeps encountering mishap after mishap. This is an amusing and entertaining tale, but I personally did not find it as memorable as Henry's Awful Mistake. (I've owned both books since I was a child, but I had almost no memory of this one at all.) Author Quackenbush excels at illustrating action scenes; the illustration of Henry colliding with a shopper carrying an armload of packages is terrific show more (though I do wonder how the cake managed to survive that!).

I also wonder what kids today would think of this book. I have heard that many children are no longer taught how to read time from the hands of a clock, and I suspect that some might be puzzled as to why Henry "couldn't find a phone"! A fun book to read for anyone who is learning how to tell time (and a good demonstration of why it's a good practice to leave early!). show less

Missing his friend Clara, Henry the Duck decides to head west to join her on vacation. This goes about as well as you might expect. Henry arrives at Clara's guest ranch to discover that everyone has left on a trail ride, and this disheartening beginning is followed by some unfortunate encounters with a mule, a bucking bronco, and an angry bull. I didn't enjoy this quite as much as I did Henry's Awful Mistake or Henry's Important Date (and the punch line (and Henry's reaction to it) is very show more similar to that of Henry's Important Date), but it's still an amusing story with great illustrations (Henry's facial expressions are the best) and one of my childhood favourites. show less

There'll be a hot time in the old town tonight is a children's book about the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. This book is originally an American folk song that was rewritten to be a children's book. I enjoyed this book although I found it somber. The illustrations in this book was excellent. The pictures, although most contained fire, were fun and not scary. I feel that this book, due to its subject matter, could have easily become gruesome. However, the illustrations being very cartoonish show more helped keep the tone lite. I also enjoyed this book because of the writing. The song was turned into a book but the author changed some of the words to better fit this written format. I thought the changed helped the book flow together nicely. It made the subject matter less overwhelming and ultimately helped the book become successful. show less