My paternal grandma's parents had nine children, so when we get together
with their descendants, it makes for an awfully big family reunion. We
make a point of convening once a year near their old family homestead
where Grandma spent her earliest years. It's great fun, meeting with
folks we don't get to see too often, enjoying their company and their
culinary offerings and taking in the natural beauty of our surroundings.
Family reunions are a treasured part of my life.
In Henry and Mudge in the Family Trees,
boisterous young Henry, an only child whose closest companion is a
massive, agreeable dog named Mudge, isn't used to having so many
relatives all gathered in the same place. So he's both exhilarated and
overwhelmed at the prospect when a fancy invitation to the family
reunion arrives in the mail. Will all these people, many of them
strangers despite the fact that they are family, like him? Will they
like Mudge, and understand about such things as dog drool? It's a
worrisome thing for a boy.
Sucie Stevenson's pictures are all
a-bustle with activity once we get to the reunion part of the book. It's
fun to examine the illustrations closely and watch what each character
is doing; some pages feature as many as 20 people engaged in a variety
of activities ranging from tree-climbing to juggling. Cynthia Rylant's
writing style is entertaining while still being accessible for those
just beginning to read on their own. The 35-page book is broken up into
three sections: The Invitation, Sloppy Kisses and The Best Family.
As with many other Henry and Mudge books, the partitioning is not
really necessary, but it provides easy stopping points if a reader wants
to break things up.
Henry and Mudge in the Family Trees,
the fifteenth book in the popular series about a boy and his dog, is a
charming tale of embracing new experiences while remaining grounded in
all the comforts of the familiar.
No comments:
Post a Comment