Henry Huggins's lovable mutt jumps into the wrong car at a shopping centre and sets off on a long, funny journey to find his way home
One dog, many homes
Ribsy is a plain, cheerful dog who belongs to Henry Huggins. When the Huggins family takes their brand-new car to a busy shopping centre, Ribsy gets confused, hops into a car that looks just like theirs, and drives off with the wrong family. Before long he is far from Klickitat Street, with no idea where Henry is, and a series of well-meaning strangers is trying to make him their own.
Who will enjoy it
Young readers who loved Henry Huggins or the Ramona books, dog lovers, and families looking for a gentle, funny read-aloud.
What you will get
A funny, warm-hearted dog's-eye adventure in which Henry Huggins's lost mutt passes through one unlikely home after another while trying to find his way back to his boy.
Ribsy Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Children’s Books · Lost dog · Henry Huggins · Funny adventure
Length
240 pages · ≈ 7 h
More about this book
Cleary tells most of this story from Ribsy's point of view, and that is the source of its charm. He does not understand why one family insists on giving him a perfumed bubble bath, why an elderly woman wants him to behave like a proper companion, or why a classroom of children treats him as a celebrity. He simply wants to be a dog, to chase things and to be with Henry.
Each new home is a small comic episode, and Cleary gets plenty of laughs from the gap between what people expect of a pet and what Ribsy actually does. A football game turns into chaos when he decides to join in, and a boy in an apartment building tries his best to keep a dog where dogs are not allowed. Meanwhile, readers know that Henry is searching just as hard.
The stakes are low and the outcome is never really in doubt, which makes it ideal for younger or more anxious readers. The final reunion is genuinely satisfying, and the book is a lovely companion to the Henry and Ramona stories. About 240 pages in the HarperCollins paperback.
Henry Huggins
Beezus and Ramona
The Mouse and the Motorcycle
Henry and Ribsy
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Bunnicula
The Phantom Tollbooth
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom
The Sneetches and Other Stories
One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish
Go, Dog. Go!
James and the Giant Peach