Henry Huggins

From then on, Henry's life is never quiet. A pair of guppies multiplies until every jar in the house is full of fish. A borrowed football disappears and Henry must catch hundreds of nightcrawlers to pay for a new one. Ribsy gets into trouble at every opportunity, and then a boy appears who says that Ribsy really belongs to him. The question of where Ribsy belongs is settled in a way that has made generations of children cheer.

This was Beverly Cleary's first book, written because children at the library where she worked kept asking for stories about kids like them. The magic is in its ordinariness: no wizards, no villains, just neighbors, pets and small problems that feel enormous when you are eight. Cleary's humor is gentle and precise, and her respect for children's feelings shines on every page. It is also where readers first meet Beezus and her little sister Ramona.

A few details are obviously from the middle of the last century, which can be part of the charm. Short chapters make it ideal for bedtime reading. About 208 pages in the HarperCollins paperback.