Henry Huggins

Children approach life with a sense of wonder and curiosity, unburdened by the complexities and responsibilities of adulthood. Kids find joy in the simple things in life, while adults, colored by their experiences, view the world through a more practical, cautious lens. Writing at a time when adults felt children should be seen and not heard, in Henry Huggins, Beverly Cleary invites the reader to empathize with a child’s version of what makes a day or event important and shines a light on the exterior and interior life of a child through a realistic character encountering the ups and downs of everyday existence. Henry first discovers a discrepancy in his childish thinking when he impulsively calls his mother and asks to bring Ribsy home. Mrs. Huggins, in her adult pragmatism, lists the reasons why bringing home a stray dog is a bad idea. However, blinded by his childish optimism, Henry ignores all the potential problems and thinks only of the joy that having a pet will bring him. Similarly, when he purchases the fish, without asking for permission, Henry uses his child-like logic to justify the decision: “He didn’t see how his mother could object to two quiet little fish that didn’t bark or track in mud or anything” (33). Henry’s confusion with adults continues when he tries to board the bus and earnestly tries to follow the rules but is met with resistance from the bus drivers. Some of the adult bus riders are angered by the sight of a dog on the bus as they only see Henry and Ribsy as a nuisance, further illustrating the disconnect between the way adults process the world and the way kids interact and react to their environment and emotions.

A hallmark of Cleary’s writing is her ability to grasp the interior life of a child, particularly in their confusion regarding adults’ thinking. As the policemen drive Henry home, they joke about arresting him. Henry struggles to determine their seriousness as he thinks to himself, “It was hard to tell about grown-ups sometimes” (25). Characters in later Cleary books will have this same thought since children are more concrete thinkers and may not yet understand figures of speech or nonliteral talk. Beyond differences in communication, children and adults process time differently. Kids tend to see time pass slowly as they eagerly await the next exciting event or life milestone; adults often view time as fleeting, and daily routines and responsibilities create a sense of urgency. For example, Henry longs to buy his own football but thinks it will take an eternity to save enough money. To Henry’s teacher, giving a student the lead role in the school Christmas operetta is an honor, and his parents are excited about his upcoming performance. However, through Henry’s childhood perspective, singing and dancing on stage are humiliating, and each moment he fails to find a way out of the predicament is one inch closer to the day of his doom. Henry does find adults who empathize with him, such as Mr. Pennycuff, the pet store owner, and his neighbor Mr. Grumbie, but he is far more comfortable living in the world of his peers. Through Henry, Cleary explores the carefree bliss of childhood and contrasts it with the complexities of adulthood. In this way, she encourages readers to recognize and value the lived experience of a child not yet emotionally equipped to fully understand the adult world.