Ribsy a Doggone Good Read

Although the series of Henry Huggins books technically ended with Henry and the Clubhouse, it would not be far-fetched to group Ribsy together with the Henry books preceding it. Just as Beezus and Ramona is a stand-alone as the only Beverly Cleary book which takes the point of view of Beezus but an introduction to the Ramona books since it takes place in the Quimby household, Ribsy is a stand-alone as the only book from Ribsy’s point of view but a P.S. to the Henry books since it focuses on a member of his household. It just so happens that this time, that member is a dog.

Ribsy is an extraordinarily easy-going dog, but he does not like being left behind. So it is that he finds himself locked in the Huggins’ car at the mall after chasing it down the block. Because he has spent the morning pestered by a particularly vicious flea, Ribsy is liberated from his collar by Henry, leaving him without identification when he accidentally opens the automatic car window and hops out. This probably would not be a major problem if it weren’t for the fact that Ribsy returns to the wrong car and finds himself rumbling out of town with a gaggle of giggling girls. This is only the first of many interesting stops on his month-long journey back to the boy he loves.

From time to time throughout the story, the readers get a page or so about what is happening in the Huggins household. But for the most part, the book follows Ribsy’s trail, from the girls who give him a bubble bath to a little old lady who dresses him up and teaches him tricks, from a second-grade class that adopts him to a boy not so different from Henry who begins to think of Ribsy as his own. There is an interesting detachment about the writing here that is absent in the books about children. Ribsy is not particularly concerned with what happens to him. Over and over, Cleary tells us that he does not care for one thing or another, but she leaves us with the impression that Ribsy can take or leave just about anything. He is tolerant of almost everything, even if it does not particularly please him. But he is truly passionate about one thing: his young master, Henry Huggins. Throughout his varied travels, Henry never leaves his thoughts entirely. The inevitable reunion is reminiscent of the concluding confrontation between Henry and Ribsy’s former owner in Henry Huggins, with a photo in the newspaper proving the long-lost pooch is alive and well.

Ribsy is an entertaining and unique volume that once again proves Cleary’s skill at getting inside characters’ heads. All sorts of interesting occurrences happen to Ribsy, making for an enjoyable read. This is the only Klickitat chronicle featuring an animal’s point of view, but other Cleary books with a nonhuman protagonist include Socks, Ralph S. Mouse, and The Mouse and the Motorcycle.