Henry and the Paper Route

by Beverly Cleary

Book Overview

Newbery Medal-winning author Beverly Cleary gives readers a hero they'll relate to, and root for, in this comical and inspiring novel about Henry Huggins's mission to prove himself worthy of his very own paper route.

All the older kids work their own paper route, but because Henry is not eleven yet, Mr. Capper won't let him. Desperate to change his mind, Henry tries everything he can think of to show he's mature and responsible...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 038070921X
• ISBN13: 9780380709212
• Release Date: September 1990
• Publisher: HarperCollins
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 0.41 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.1" x 7.5"
• Age Range: 8 to 12 years
• Grade Range: Grades 3 to 7

Customer Reviews

Beverly Cleary GETS boys

Oh, thank heavens for this series of books. Beverly Cleary seems to LIKE boys! It's such a nice change from all these "girls rule - boys are dumb" attitudes. I like Henry's goal orientation. I like the way he relates to the other characters -- kind, honest, hopeful, straightforward, clever. I especially like how he treats the neighborhood pest, Ramona, a 4-year-old girl. He tries to shush her sometimes, but in the end, the story concludes with him finding a way to engage her curiosity and inventiveness. I like how the chapters build on one another and lead to the goal. They are nice chapters -- each one tells its own story, but they do build to the conclusion.

Timelessly Entertaining!

As with the previous books, Henry and the Paper Route is written in chapter book style where each chapter is almost a short story in-and-of-itself and which all wind their way toward the ultimate goal (each book Henry has that ONE thing he's got to get or do) which makes for interesting reading, wondering how each part will ultimately work out with the end goal. It's clear from the title that this volume in the Henry Huggins series is all about Henry and his desire to get a paper route all his own and as the chapters go on, we see how he goes about proving he's ready to do that! With this book we also get to read more about Beezus and Ramona, Scooter, Ribsy and more! Henry and the Paper Route is six chapters of boyishly good adventure geared toward Henry obtaining the paper route of his dreams! We start out with Henry in hot water over bringing home four kittens...this chapter is all about him making an interesting first impression with Mr. Capper (the newspaper guy). The second chapter is about his tireless search to find good homes for those kittens. Chapter three Henry engineers a clever plan to help his class get ahead in the school paper drive and in chapter four we find out if his plan was successful or not! Chapter five Henry meets Murph, boy genius and finds that Murph has transferred into the paper route he's had his eye on! Oh, no...in chapter six will Henry finally get that route or is he destined to only fill in and help Scooter out? Your young reader will love finding out! I give this book five stars...though the Henry Huggins series was written in the 1940's and 50's and have a bit of a Leave It to Beaver feel with regards to the traditional family roles and quaint feel of the daily life of the kids in them...they are also rather timeless. Putting aside the money issues (yea, everything cost WAY less in these books than they do today), Henry Huggins is a clean cut typical boy looking for a bit of fun...but he's also honest, hard working, and clever in thinking of ways to get what he wants (the advertising thing for the paper drive for example)...and he's always respectful even when he's trying to scheme to get what he wants! Henry and the Paper Route (and all the other books in this series) are well worth reading...these are kids classics for a reason, because they are timelessly entertaining!

Monkey Business

I am 8 years old. I like all of the Beverly Cleary books. This book is funny. I especially liked the part when Ramona pinned a jump rope to her overalls and pretended she was a monkey. She went to the store with her family, and some people joked around and thought she was a new species for sale. Then she thought they were not joking and she ran away from the store. Ramona is four in this book, and she is my favorite character in the Beverly Cleary books.

...a dog and a little red wagon...

This was the first Henry book I read, so it got me into the rest of them. Imagine a ten-year-old boy trying to look like a grown-up while a kitten pokes its head out of his jacket. This book is a delightful voyage into the lives of kids and animals in America.

Funny, wonderful book that I love!

This book is hilarious! I'd give it 10 stars if I could. All the emotions are there -- frustration, longing & joy. While the book is very, very funny, great lessons are taught along the way about perseverance, patience and having high hopes!