This timeless classic features a foreword written by  New York Times  bestselling author Judy Blume, as well as an exclusive interview with Beverly Cleary herself!   In the first novel from Newbery Medal–winning author Beverly Cleary, boys and girls alike will be charmed instantly by an average boy whose life is turned upside down when he meets a lovable puppy with a nose for mischief. Just as Henry Huggins is complaining that nothing exciting ever happens, a friendly dog sits down beside him and looks pleadingly at his ice-cream cone. From that moment on, the two are inseparable. But when Ribsy's original owner appears, trying to reclaim his dog, Henry's faced with the possibility of losing his new best friend. Has Klickitat Street seen the last of rambunctious Ribsy? Don't miss the beloved classic Henry Huggins books from Beverly Cleary. These are truly timeless classics that stand the test of time and still leave readers 7-13 smiling. “Not a dull moment!” - Booklist Henry has a new best friend. Henry Huggins feels like nothing very exciting ever happens on Klickitat Street . . . until one day when a friendly dog sits down and looks pleadingly at Henry's ice cream cone. From that moment on, Henry and his new dog, Ribsy, are inseparable—and together, they cause more excitement than Klickitat Street can handle! 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. Jaqueline Rogers has been a professional children's book illustrator for more than twenty years and has worked on nearly one hundred children's books. Chapter One Henry and Ribs Henry Huggins was in the third grade. His hair looked like a scrubbing brush and most of his grown-up front teeth were in. He lived with his mother and father in a square white house on Klickitat Street. Except for having his tonsils out when he was six and breaking his arm falling out of a cherry tree when he was seven, nothing much happened to Henry. I wish something exciting would happen, Henry often thought. But nothing very interesting ever happened to Henry, at least not until one Wednesday afternoon in March. Every Wednesday after school Henry rode downtown on the bus to go swimming at the Y.M.C.A. After he swam for an hour, he got on the bus again and rode home just in time for dinner. It was fun but not really exciting. When Henry left the Y.M.C.A. on this particular Wednesday, he stopped to watch a man tear down a circus poster. Then, with three nickels and one dime in his pocket, he went to the corner drugstore to buy a chocolate ice cream cone. He thought he would eat the ice cream cone, get on the bus, drop his dime in the slot, and ride home. That is not what happened. He bought the ice cream cone and paid for it with one of his nickels. On his way out of the drugstore he stopped to look at funny books. It was a free look, because he had only two nickels left. He stood there licking his chocolate ice cream cone and reading one of the funny books when he heard a thump, thump, thump. Henry turned, and there behind him was a dog. The dog was scratching himself. He wasn't any special kind of dog. He was too small to be a big dog but, on the other hand, he was much too big to be a little dog. He wasn't a white dog, because parts of him were brown and other parts were black and in between there were yellowish patches. His ears stood up and his tail was long and thin. The dog was hungry. When Henry licked, he licked. When Henry swallowed, he swallowed. Hello, you old dog, Henry said. You can't have my ice cream cone. Swish, swish, swish went the tail. Just one bite, the dog's brown eyes seemed to say. Go away, ordered Henry. He wasn't very firm about it. He patted the dog's head. The tail wagged harder. Henry took one last lick. Oh, all right, he said. If you're that hungry, you might as well have it. The ic