Henry Huggins

Henry Huggins
Cover of Henry Huggins
Created by	Beverly Cleary

Henry Huggins is a character appearing in a series of children's literature novels by Beverly Cleary, illustrated by Louis Darling, and first appearing in Henry Huggins. He is a young boy living on Klickitat Street in Portland, Oregon. In the novels, he is in elementary school. The novels take place in the 1950s, which is when Cleary wrote most of the books. The books describe adventures that he experiences in his neighborhood and his interactions with other neighborhood children. He has a dog named Ribsy and a part-time job doing a paper route in North Portland.

Cleary, a librarian, wrote the first Henry Huggins book in 1950, in response to the boys in her library searching for books "about boys like us." Cleary later launched a new series about one of the supporting characters, Ramona Quimby. The Ramona series ultimately surpassed the Henry Huggins series in popularity. Henry appeared only rarely in the Ramona series, as a supporting character. He was portrayed by Hutch Dano in the movie Ramona and Beezus.

Characters in Henry Huggins series

• Henry Huggins: Henry is about 11 years old, but starts out as an 8 year old.
• Ribsy: Ribsy is Henry's dog; the dog was named "Ribsy" because when Henry found him, he was so thin, his ribs were showing.
• Beezus Quimby: Beezus, whose real name is Beatrice, is one of the children in Henry's neighborhood. In Henry's opinion, she's "pretty sensible for a girl". Beezus acquired her nickname because her younger sister, Ramona, was unable to say "Beatrice" when she was learning to talk. Everyone in the neighborhood, including Beezus and her family, adopted Ramona's pronunciation.
• Ramona Quimby: Ramona is Beezus's younger sister. She wants to do everything her sister and Henry do, but because she is so young, the older children perceive her as a pest. In her preschool days, her favorite TV show was the Sheriff Bud show, a fictionalization of Howdy Doody.
• Henry's parents
• Robert: Henry's best friend
• Scooter McCarthy: An older boy with a paper route; Henry is often irritated by Scooter's upperclassman attitudes.
• Byron "Murph" Murphy: An older boy who is a genius, and friends with Henry.
• Mary Jane: A girl who lives down the street who is friends with Beezus. Henry doesn't really like her because she is too prissy.
• The Grumbies: The Huggins' neighbors. Henry gets along with Mr. Grumbie but dislikes Mrs. Grumbie because she doesn't like Ribsy, which is "the same thing as not liking Henry."

Books in the series

• Henry Huggins, published in 1950
• Henry and Beezus, published in 1952
• Henry and Ribsy, published in 1954
• Henry and the Paper Route, published in 1957
• Henry and the Clubhouse, published in 1962
• Ribsy, published in 1964

See also

"Statue of Henry and Ribsy". Beverly Cleary Memorial Garden. Retrieved 2012-04-26.