Henry Huggins

By: Beverly Cleary

Narrated by: Neil Patrick Harris

Genuinely funny books for children are few and far between. So, when a story like Henry Huggins comes along, it comes to stay. Children everywhere see themselves in this irresistible boy's adventures.

During an unforgettable year that begins when Henry discovers a lost, hungry dog he calls Ribsy, listeners will have a grand time. Before the suspenseful conclusion, they'll meet Henry's friends on Klickitat Street, including Beezus and her little sister, Ramona, and enjoy lots of hilarious happenings. No wonder this continuously engaging and heartwarming story is a classic!

©1950, 1978 Beverly Cleary; 2000 Beverly Cleary (P)2001 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc.

Critic reviews

"This exceptional production will delight listeners." (School Library Journal)
"Cleary provides a warm, autobiographical introduction to this excellent adaptation of her first book, which was originally published in 1950....Harris proves a versatile performer taking on a whole community of friendly voices....He nails Henry's sense of innocent wonder and his sweet, honest demeanor in every scene." (Publishers Weekly)

We listen again and again

Any additional comments?

My 4 year old son loves this book and we really enjoy listening to NPH reading it.

Wonderful

Very well done - a safe book for children to become immersed and not have to worry about adult topics and inappropriate inuendo. Performance was excellent!

wonderful!

My 5 year old is absolutely loving listening to this in the car! He keeps asking to 'turn on my book' as soon as we get in the car to go some place. I bought this first one because I wanted to see if he'd like it. I've bought a few other kids books for road trips and they were alright but did not get this response. I'm even enjoying it. I will be purchasing the collection!

Really well done

My whole family enjoyed listening to this one in the car. We loved the narrator and the story is fun and great for a trip.

Wonderful!

Well-written stories and outstanding narration make the Henry Huggins and Ramona series high-quality listening entertainment. Neil Patrick Harris does an amazing job with the Henry Huggins stories and Stockard Channing shines in the Ramona series. My 5 year old and I have both enjoyed them immensely. You won't be disappointed.

Classic given new life with wonderful narration

Would you listen to Henry Huggins again? Why?

Absolutely. Not only is the story a classic, but the narrator is fantastic.

What did you like best about this story?

Strong characters and timeless adventures.

Which character – as performed by Neil Patrick Harris – was your favorite?

Henry.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I laughed out a loud a few times, along with my children.

Any additional comments?

This was one of the books we listened to as a family on our first road trip to New Orleans from Chicago. It was definitely one of the top 3 favorites of the kids and enjoyable to us as well. Nice to share a story that I loved as a child, brought to life by the wonderful and witty narration of Neil Patrick Harris.

Forget Hawthone and Melville, Cleary is timeless

The Henry Huggins series by Beverly Cleary was my introduction to "big boy" reading as a child and if not for Cleary I might never have gone to read the other classics. Listening to them again brought back many wonderful memories. I can't wait to introduce my son to Henry and Ribsy (but he'll get the books).

Delightful visit on Klickitat Street

Neil Patrick Harris does a lovely job with his characterizations, and the stories, of course, are from another time and age, when troubles could really be quite sweet (anyone for dozens of Mason jars full of fish?). I remember these stories from my childhood, and now I listen to them with my kids, who laugh and giggle and can't wait for the next chapter. Hats off to Beverly Cleary and Henry Huggins.

An absolutely lovely story Children will adore.

My mother bought us this audiobook when my brother and I were little and we listened to it over and over and over again. As Beverly Cleary says I'm her interview at the end, a girl told her that her books made her feel safe. I wholeheartedly agree with that. this book made me feel like that when I was a child and listening to it again as an adult I'm once again brought back to that feeling you have as a child when you know you are loved and safe and everything is going to be ok. And Beverly Cleary so perfectly captures what it is like to be a child and how you think and feel at that age. I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a book their children will love forever. it doesn't talk down to them nor does it make them feel like an ordinary childhood is boring. In fact as a kid it made me love normal, simple things in life even more. And Neil Patrick Harris so wonderfully narrates this book. many people might see his name and think of his role on how I met your mother and think "uuhhh why is he narrating a children's book?" But he is perfect for this book. He's fantastic with all the different voices and the amount of emotion and humor he puts into it amazing. Seriously I cannot recommend this book more.

Excellent--just excellent!

I don't typically review kids' books. But we are just back from a vacation with our 5 & 7 year old grandkids--and we listened to this book, as well as "Henry & Beezus" and "Henry & the Clubhouse". They were all wonderful!

I'm so used to serious lit and adult mysteries, that it was a pleasant surprise and change of pace to listen to these. My husband and I found them as charming as our grandsons did. The kids never uttered a whimper of protest or "when are we going to get there?" during a fairly long car trip because they were just fascinated by the various adventures of Henry Huggins and his dog Ribsy. There is also a lot of interaction with Beezus and Ramona Quinby (from the "Ramona the Pest" series).

These were originally published in the 1950's I think--and believe me when I say--they have lost none of their charm since then. Our kids read them a generation ago, and now our grandchildren are listening to them. There is something totally timeless about the way Beverly Cleary touches so perfectly on the behaviors and feelings and behavioral strategies of elementary school-aged kids.

Charming. Delightful. Amusing. Perceptive. Clever. Fun. Captivating stories. And here is a shout out to Neil Patrick Harris who narrated them all. If you want something for kids of this age range, you can't go wrong with the Beverly Cleary series. And this narration is simply wonderful! Though I don't read or listen to too many kids' stories these days--I highly recommend this series! Kids can totally relate to the situations that are described, despite the span of years since originally published.