Henry and Beezus - Couverture souple

Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up.

Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born!

Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.

Louis Darling was an illustrator, writer, and environmentalist who was born and lived most of his life in Connecticut. His illustrations filled the pages of Beverly Cleary’s books until his death in 1970. His work is celebrated and immortalized by generations of fans.

Louis Darling was the very first illustrator to give the world of Beverly Cleary a face. His renderings of the Klickitat Street adventures became a gateway to imagination and the joy of reading for generations of children. Now, more than sixty years later, his illustrations once again grace the pages of classic stories by Beverly Cleary. With a foreword by Caldecott Honor author and illustrator Marla Frazee, Henry and Beezus will be enjoyed by a whole new generation of readers!

Henry Huggins wants a new bicycle more than anything. Since money doesn’t grow on trees, Henry takes matters into his own hands and enlists the aid of neighborhood pal Beezus Quimby to help him make his dreams of wheeling down Klickitat Street on a shiny red bike come true. 

But somehow Henry and Beezus’s attempts to earn money go awry. Selling bubblegum on the playground lands them in trouble with the teacher, and bidding at a bicycle auction results in losing Beezus’s pesty little sister, Ramona. Still, no matter what they get into, Henry is lucky to have Beezus by his side.