Mitch and Amy

Mitch and Amy is a children's novel by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Bob Marstall. The story follows the escapades of the fraternal Huff twins, Mitch and Amy, in Berkeley, California. Although the book was written in the late 1960s, the book stays true to Cleary's penchant for making the stories relevant regardless of the time period.

Mitch and Amy is one of the few Cleary books that is not part of a series or a progression, like the Ramona Quimby series. It is also one of the few Cleary books that is set outside Portland, Oregon.

Mitch and Amy was first published in1967.

Plot summary

Siblings Mitch and Amy Huff have a penchant for always finding something to argue about, whether it's over cereal box tops or over making pudding for lunch. When it comes to school, the two aren't any more different. Amy is in the fastest reading group, while Mitch is struggling, but in the math department, it's Mitch who's on top. Amy dreads the day when they give a math quiz in school via a record, while Mitch is forced by his parents to forgo his favorite TV shows to read what he disdainfully calls "baby books".

But along comes a bully named Alan Hibbler, who torments both of them. He wrecks Mitch's homemade skateboard in the first chapter of the book and throws the pieces at Mitch as he runs away. He even goes as far as to spit in Amy's hair and snack on one of the cupcakes she brought for Girl Scouts. In the face of this common enemy, the twins stop bickering and in the end, make sure Alan is the one who's humiliated.

External links

• Amazon.com listing
• Chapter 1 at harperchildrens.com