Henry and the Clubhouse

Once again, the Henry Huggins books make me nostalgic for a time I never knew.

My 4yo, who's in a "No Girls Allowed" phase, really appreciated the clubhouse rules, and all of us laughed out loud at Henry's solution to Ramona bothering him on his paper route.

I love how Cleary follows her characters on the circuitous route towards doing the right thing. We get to see Henry's initial reaction to a problem, his frustration, his decision to act in a less-than-nice manner, his reluctance to apologize, and his acknowledgement that the apology---though difficult---helped him feel better. Cleary's books are filled with ethical lessons that aren't at all heavy-handed. And they're just fun stories. I will be sad when we're finished with this series.

Like all in the Henry series and the Ramona series, the book is a series of related short stories aimed at elementary school kids. Nothing very serious. Mild themes of responsibility, kindness, and friendship, but the focus in on the light, humorous storytelling rather than intensely developed themes and morals.

Henry and his friends build a clubhouse; Henry faces his responsibility as a paperboy to sell subscriptions as well as deliver them; Henry deals with an aggressive dog in the neighborhood; he has a battle of wills with Ramona (and if you've read other books in either series, you know in advance who will win such a battle... until Henry comes up with a novel idea, which leads to the funniest episode in the book.

Originally show more published in 1962, the book has aged remarkably well. Young readers may not fully grasp the idea of a "paperboy," though it is detailed enough for them to catch on. show less

I always enjoy Beverly Cleary and this novel about Henry Huggins is no exception. Henry is funny and the scrapes he gets into are a reminder of what the world used to be, back when kids played outside and had paper routes and built forts. I read this aloud to my kids and they laughed at such funny scenes as when Henry rides downtown in an old bathtub and when Ramona locks him in his clubhouse.

Another lovely book about Henry Huggins. I wish I had read these as a child, they are wonderfully written. Ramona becomes more and more an important character in these stories. Everything Henry tries to do to keep her from bugging him, ends up getting her more involved in his adventures.

This one is a bit problematic. Be prepared to talk with your child about "no girls allowed" and too much advertising on TV and media "Indians." Ultimately it has good lessons, but getting to them is not easy. And why doesn't Henry put Ribsy on a leash when they go somewhere, esp. somewhere important?!

I might want to reread, though, as Children's Books July 2021 Beverly says "I very much enjoyed this almost final Henry Huggins story. While he did have some stumbles (why didn't he take the key with him into the clubhouse??), a whole lot of other things started looking up for him. His idea to get Ramona to quit pestering him was pure genius. And when it snowed, his care for his customers' newspapers earned him all kinds of accolades. I show more thought this was a great way to end Henry's series of adventures." show less

ewwwww, omg, gIRlS HavE CooTiEs!!!

In all seriousness, I think Henry and Ramona were both kinda assholes in this book. Henry's a chauvinist, and Ramona is a nosy brat. Sure, the ending is cutesy, but this is definitely one of the weaker Beverly Cleary books. Sure, this was published in the 1960's, but even with that in mind... ehhh.

Don't get me wrong - this is still a Beverly Cleary book, so it has its good moments.

Another fine Henry Huggins book...and sadly we only have two left about Henry before we have exhausted this series. We simply love these books, my daughter is anxiously waiting until we get to the library tomorrow to pick up Henry and the Paper Route and we'll top off the series with Ribsy. Like other Henry Huggins books, this one is divided into chapters (7 to be exact) and each chapter is practically a short story in and of itself...the chapters build up to an overall theme/goal for Henry. In this particular book, it's building a clubhouse and buying a sleeping bag so he and his friends can sleep in the clubhouse.

The chapters start out with Henry forgetting about his paper route and winding up riding through town in a bathtub, then show more Henry and Ribsy making the acquaintance of the new neighborhood dog, we follow them on Halloween night, on a day of collection for his newspaper route, through his building of the clubhouse (with a strict No Girls policy) and his run in with Beezus and Ramona as a result (hilarious), Henry's clever "solution" to Ramona's pestering, and how he wound up with a little shadow! Overall the stories are clever and humorous in a way that I think kids genuinely appreciate and relate to!

Where does he find materials for his clubhouse? How does it turn out? What's up with that huge stuffed owl? What's it like to ride through town in a bathtub? How hard is a paper route? Will Henry ever get that sleeping bag? If you want to know you simply must read Henry and the Clubhouse, you won't be disappointed! These stories were written in the 1950's and 60's, so money matters are a bit off, but the rest is charming and the overall themes, humor, and childhood joys, frustrations and embarrassments have held up so wonderfully over the years...these books are great for girls and boys! I give this one an A+, another fine Henry Huggins adventure! show less