Henry and Mudge Spread Summery Sunshine

We've been buried under snow for more than a month here in Erie, Pennsylvania; I'm starting to forget what green grass and cloudless skies feel like. Not that I'm complaining about the winter. But reading the drowsily sunny Henry and Mudge in the Green Time made me long just a little for warm summer days with shorts and bare feet, with picnics and hoses. If only it weren't for an Unfortunate Incident near the beginning of the book, I just might be impatient for summer, or at least spring, to arrive.

Unlike many of the books in the Henry and Mudge series, written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Sucie Stevenson, this one's three sections are not part of one long story. They're still thematically connected, though, each showing a different aspect of the summer that the boy named Henry and his lovable mutt named Mudge spend together.

The Picnic starts off blissful, with Henry munching away on his lunch under the bright sunshine while Mudge chases some ants around a tree. But then disaster strikes Henry. It's a minor sort of disaster, but if it were me, it would almost be enough to turn me off of picnics for the rest of the summer. Good thing he has Mudge along for moral support.

The Bath presents a very familiar scene, with Henry giving Mudge a bath, and usually good-natured Mudge not being too happy about it. I love the opening illustration with Henry sprinkling himself gleefully with a hose while a rainbow appears in the resulting mist. Hoses are such marvelous fun. For people, that is. Mudge hates the hose, as most self-respecting dogs do, and he hates the shampoo that fills his fur with bubbles. But he has a way to get back at Henry for all the misery he inflicts...

Finally, The Green Time is an imaginative story about Henry and Mudge's exploits on the big green hill behind Henry's house. It's the perfect playground for a boy and his dog, especially when they want to be a king and a dragon. This is a gently playful story that reminds me a little of the end of The House at Pooh Corner, with Christopher Robin and Pooh doing Nothing together in the enchanted place at the top of the forest. Grand...

This third Henry and Mudge book is just over 40 pages. with basic sentences ideal for beginning readers and bright, cartoonish illustrations that retain a reader's interest. Henry and Mudge in the Green Time is a charming series of three summery adventures that will bring a smile no matter what the season.