Day 80: Henry and Mudge in the Green Time

One of our earliests posts (Day 3) was about the beloved boy and dog duo of Henry and Mudge, who have long been regular favorites in our household.  We are fond of Cynthia Rylant's books, in general, but Henry and Mudge will forever hold a very special place in our hearts.  I just love these stories about the big drooly dog and his best friend, Henry.  Sucie Stevenson's illustrations are wonderfully charming, and I love the way Rylant describes the things Mudge does and the love Henry's family has for one another.  There are 28 books in the series, and I think we've read just about all of them at one time or another.  Henry and Mudge in the Green Time is definitely among my favorites.   It takes place in the summer, and the three chapter stories are "The Picnic," in which Henry gets stung by a bee, "The Bath," in which Mudge endures a much-hated bath, and "The Green Time," my favorite of the three.   I think I love the Green Time so much because it captures the wonderful imagination of Henry, an only child, and the bliss and innocence of childhood.  Henry and Mudge spend lots of time on the green hill near their house, Henry pretending to be a king and Mudge, his dragon.  "The met monsters.  Mudge ate them.  They marched and marched till they could march no more.  Then they found a magic tree on the green hill.  It was a tree for kings and dragons who were tired.  Henry and Mudge sat down under the tree.  Henry put his arms around Mudge.  They were glad for a magic tree.  They closed their eyes.  And a boy and his dog slept, together, on the green hill in their green time."   Just wonderful, isn't it?  Henry and Mudge can usually be found in the early reader section of your library.  No need to wait until your child can actually read, though, before checking out this fabulous series.  These books are wonderful additions to any preschoolers library.  Be warned, though:  this series is addictive!  Don't be surprised if your little one asks to bring home the library's entire collection all at once.

Day 3: Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea

Cynthia Rylant's wonderful collection of stories about a little boy and his beloved, huggable, 180 pound dog, Mudge, are on heavy rotation at our house right now.  In fact, my son loves them so much, it was all I could do to convince him that we couldn't check out all 28 of them from the library this week.  (We settled on four.)  He also loves to pretend to be Mudge on a regular basis, which I find ridiculously cute.  We must read at least three different Henry and Mudge books a day, but we are particularly fond of the Forever Sea at the moment.  I think this is because, like me, my son can't wait to be able to go to the beach this summer.  (We've been dreaming about it all winter long.)  The Henry and Mudge books are part of the "Ready to Read" series so are presumably aimed at a slightly older age group, but I think they are just perfect for three year olds, too.  They have been around for a while -- The First Book was published in 1987 -- and I remember reading them with my brothers when they were little.  (And now, we are lucky to have all of their old books.  Thanks, Mom!)  If you've ever owned a dog, especially a big one that drools a lot and takes up too much room on the couch, you'll instantly love Mudge.  I often laugh and smile to myself as I read about the things he does, as they bring back so many happy memories of my childhood dog.  If you haven't discovered Henry and Mudge yet, I encourage you to go check them out.  There are many adventures to choose from, and no doubt other titles from the series will make our list further down the line.