Henry and his 180-pound dog Mudge are best friends forever. And in this second book of their adventures, they venture out into the wet and happy world of spring.
An author of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry for children and young adults as well as an author and author/illustrator of picture books for children, Cynthia Rylant is recognized as a gifted writer who has contributed memorably to several genres of juvenile literature. A prolific author who often bases her works on her own background, especially on her childhood in the West Virginia mountains, she is the creator of contemporary novels and historical fiction for young adults, middle-grade fiction and fantasy, lyrical prose poems, beginning readers, collections of short stories, volumes of poetry and verse, books of prayers and blessings, two autobiographies, and a biography of three well-known children's writers; several volumes of the author's fiction and picture books are published in series, including the popular "Henry and Mudge" easy readers about a small boy and his very large dog.
Rylant is perhaps most well known as a novelist. Characteristically, she portrays introspective, compassionate young people who live in rural settings or in small towns and who tend to be set apart from their peers.
Henry and Mudge books are great for 2nd graders who are reading on schedule. This one is just a nice book with gentle situations that kids can relate to. My daughter found it amusing.
She's in second grade but has been reading Captain Underpants and Wimpy Kid. I felt bad that I had rushed her past all of these other books, so we're taking a break from more difficult reading to come back and revisit these typical 2nd grade favorites.
While these books may start to look a bit dated to adults, my kid still thought Henry and Mudge were fun.
Cynthis Rylant writes three mini adventures in the Henry and Mudge book. Henry is a little boy who has a 180-pound dog named Mudge. Each story in this book deals with a specific topic that is told playfully and lightly enough for a young reader. In the first adventure of this book, "Snow Glory," Henry has fallen in love with a beautiful blue flower. Henry knows he shouldn't touch it,"But he thought how nice it would look in a jar." At one point Henry tells Mudge that he "needs" the flower, which Mudge mistakenly thinks he tells him to eat the flower. Henry is very angry with Mudge, but he then comes to the realization that in order to remain friends he must forgive his dog. In the second tale "Puddle Trouble," Henry and Mudge decide to enjoy a puddle one April day without the permission of his father. The outcome is unexpected. In the third story, "The Kittens," Mudge becomes attached to the neighbors kittens and he protects them from a situation that he perceives to be harmful.
The illustrations are comical,lighthearted and simple. This is a quality which makes this book so popular with primary students because of it's illustrations that are cartoon-style and fun. I would recommend these books for K-2. They are great books for early stage readers.
My 7 year old son recently borrowed this book from his school library.
This is the second book in the Henry and Mudge series. Don't worry, you will not be lost if you read the books out of order. In this installment, Spring has arrived. Henry is enjoying riding his bike and Mudge is enjoying doing what dogs do. Henry and Mudge have several great adventures. They come across a beautiful snow flower that Henry wants to pick very badly, but his mother advises him to let it grow and to let others enjoy the flower as much as he does. Unfortunately, due to a little misunderstanding from Mudge, Mudge eats it. My son read this part over and over and laughed every time. They also enjoyed the April rain and the huge muddle puddles it leaft behind. Their neighbors cat also had some kittens in which Mudge helped look after and protect.
Henry and Mudge always find a way to have a great time, no matter what is going on. My son can't wait to read more of the series and see what other adventures they have.
My son and I both thoroughly enjoyed every book in this series and were excited to find out what would happen as we started each one. Because my son was between 5-6 years old (he's an advanced reader) at the time, he easily identified with Henry and loved Mudge because (1) he desperately wanted a dog, and (2) Mudge's goofiness was endearing AND hilarious.
Read Aloud: Pre-K and Kindergarten Introduces plot, character development, foreshadowing, and use of imagery.
Independent Reading: First or Second grade (6-7 years old). More complex sentence structure than "Mr. Putter Series" and slightly longer paragraphs. Short chapters (with clever titles), character development, humor, and an easy to follow plot will encourage all children to read.
Underlying themes of friendship, thoughtfulness, and responsibility are seamlessly weaved throughout the book. Although this is a fairly simple children's book, I found myself laughing out loud at the many adventures of Henry and Mudge.
Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble features three spring adventures. In “Snow Glory”, Henry and Mudge admire a snow glory flower they want to pick, but before Henry has a chance to pick it, Mudge surprises him. In “Puddle Trouble” the pair come across a lake of a puddle, which they must jump in. Henry’s father finds out and seems like he will be angry, but we are surprised when he joins in on the fun instead. In “The Kittens”, big Mudge becomes the gentle, yet fierce protector of a group of kittens. Each story has plenty of funny moments, and is interesting enough to hold attention while still being appropriate for early on their own readers. Rylant has an enjoyable writing style that translates well into the early reader format naturally. The illustrations are lovely and add to the story. Mudge and Henry are cute characters, and they are full of fun expressiveness.
This Henry and Mudge has three stories: Snow glory- Henry forgives Mudge for eating a flower that he wanted to pick although his mom told him to let it grow. I like that he was obedient, and that he realized he didn't have grounds to be mad at Mudge. Puddle Trouble- Henry and Mudge go play in the rain and jump in a big puddle. They get in trouble for not asking dad first (to come along, that is). The Kittens: Mudge protects neighbor kittens (Henry names after planets) from a strange dog.
Genre: Comedy and Humor Grade: K-3 This book is a young readers chapter book. I think young readers would like this book although only one chapter in it went along with the title of the book. Pictures were good and had detail.
Alice loves these books about an only child and his dog Mudge. Perfect for her current reading level. In this one, they play in mud puddled, resist picking a flower, and protect newborn kittens.
I like when my 2-year-old requests the earlier Henry and Mudge books, as we get to see character development. At this point in the series, Rylant was writing several short stories about Henry's first (or second? We haven't read Puppy Mudge yet) year with Mudge. Here we have three unrelated stories connected by the theme of "Spring". Henry learns to let go of childish "needs" like owning a specific flower. They go splashing in a puddle without parental permission only to find out that Henry's father likes to splash too. And we see how good this giant dog is with kittens.
Okay, this one is super short, but you know, honestly it’s actually got some profound lessons. In the first one, when Henry learns to let go of something beautiful and forgive his dog who innocently destroyed it. It surprised me to read that in a children’s book.
My nephew has been reading these stories for school. I like this series, it's fun and getting to watch his excitement and having him read to me is the best.
I really liked this book because Mudge shakes his body and gets the dad all muddy. Then the dad plays in the puddle with Henry and Mudge! I also like it when all the kittens are named after planets!
Recommended ages 6-8. A good book for beginning independent readers with a variety of vocabulary matched with fun short stories relatable to the protagonist.
Henry knew it wasn't his snow glory. He knew it wasn't anybody's snow glory. Just a thing to let grow. And if someone ate it, it was just a thing to let go.
i actcully like this book its super funny. My faverite part is when henry wisper to mudges ear now i need it. It is so funny when he said that. He wanted the snow glory.