...Cynthia Rylant has created a beautiful gift - not for the child saying goodbye to five, but for the parents who are smiling through tears as they remember the transformation of their tiny infant to a full fledged "kid." ...

Wow! I picked this up by chance at the library and we read it on my daughter's first birthday (yesterday). What a special book! Both the story and the pictures capture little kids' personalities so perfectly at their various phases. The book shows a little girl's first few birthdays, starting with her birth, and emphasizes her development and the bonds between her and her parents. It's really more of a book about parents and how we love our kids than a kids' book, but my daughter liked it, too. It's a bit of a tearjerker-- keep in mind that it's an emotional time for us, since it's hard to believe that our little baby is a year old already-- but I got a little weepy and my husband got a lump in his throat while reading it. It's just a perfect book for us-- it captures our joy at our daughter's birthday and our nostalgia for the past year. Since it covers the little girl's first several birthdays, it also gives us a chance to look forward to birthdays to come. I'm so glad I happened upon it, and I'm now purchasing a copy to keep.

I have now found the perfect book to give to all of my friends and family members on the special occasion of the birth of a new baby! Cynthia Rylant's 'Birthday Presents' is a touching story about the beauty of family traditions. As a new baby comes into their life, the parents make each birthday special by giving meaningful, non-commercial, oral traditon gifts to their child as she grows up. Each year the whole family revels in the pleasures of the heartwarming tokens. As the child grows older, she realizes how wonderful it is to share important memories. The family is setting up lasting traditions that create a sense of belonging and a sense of joy. Finally, the little girl continues the tradition by giving the parents a very special gift for their anniversary. I wholeheartedly reccommend this book to anyone and everyone.

We read this nightly with our 2 year old and 3-1/2 year old. They love finding the *right* page each night, and by mid-month they have the blessing memorized and they say it along with us. Then, towards the end of the month, as we grow weary of the same blessing every night, lo and behold it is a new month, and we get to learn a new one! This opens up so many avenues: prayers of thanksgiving, nighttime rituals, the concept of months and seasons. And the pictures offer many things to talk about, some covered in the blessing, and others that simply fit the month. We heartily recommend this book to parents of toddlers!

My 20 month old LOVES this book. He always digs it out from his others. The pace and length of book works well for short attention span and bright, child-like illustrations work well too. Recurring themes (dogs,cats,trees...) in illustrations make this a good book for 'point to the ...' recognition game.

BLESS US ALL takes you through the months of the year "blessing" things common to the month, each in four lines of poetry. Rylant's illustrations are as charming as her words, done in folk-art style, bordered with wrapping-paper prints. This book would make a lovely gift for a young child or for an adult who still has some child within. BLESS US ALL is a blessing!

I like this book because I like the stories. It was fun to see if the kittens are going to get in trouble by the new dog or not, and if Henry and Mudge were going to get into trouble by their dad. I like that Henry and Mudge ae such good friends, and that they understand each other.

Henry and his big dog Mudge are back in this wonderful 2nd addition to the ever-growing series. This time, spring has come, bringing with it spring flowers, giant puddles and new births.

Books in this series are excellent choices for emergent or beginning readers. The sentences are short and easy to read, and the illustrations practically tell the story by themselves. Like other Henry and Mudge books (H&M for short), this book is divided into chapters. In this case, each chapter represents a different story for our boy & dog team in springtime (in other H&M books the story is split up into chapters like regular books).

In the first book, H&M discover a beautiful flower that has sprung from the ground. That is, until Mudge eats it! In the second, the spring rains have made the world puddle-luscious and they're just perfect for jumping in (even for adults!!). In the final chapter, a neighborhood cat has her kittens, and Mudge acts as a kind of guardian/father to them when another neighborhood dog comes prowling around.

Henry & Mudge books are by far a favorite of both me the teacher and my students. They're about the simple happy pleasures of everyday that often we tend to overlook in the pursuit for the Next Big Thing To Do For Fun And Excitement. It isn't necessary to start with any one particular book, but once you start reading H&M, you'll want to keep reading them all!!

In their third adventure, Henry and his big dog Mudge explore the wonders of Springtime. Henry learns forgiveness when Mudge eats something special to him. Mudge saves the day when a new dog threatens the special kittens next door. However, parents and children alike will love the puddle trouble Henry and Mudge get into. Henry's father's reaction to the muddy mess of the duo will make you want to enjoy Spring with such childlike abandon. These books are sure winners. Though classified as easy readers, they appeal to all ages.

Henry and Mudge books are some of the best books available to beginning readers, and parents would be hard-pressed not to enjoy them as well. While a few of the books in the series show Henry's idyllically happy parents in a way that might make children from less traditional families sad or "homesick" for that situation, this particular book is purely about a little boy, his big dog, their imaginations, and being a kid in the summer. Cynthia Rylant's writing is fun yet poetic, and Sucie Stevenson's illustrations are charming as always.

Henry and Mudge are the best of friends. It doesn't matter at all that one of them walks on four legs and drools a lot!!

In this third book in the H&M series, summertime has arrived with adventures galore for boy & dog. Divided into chapters, each functioning as a mini story but related to each other, Henry and his 180-pound dog Mudge explore the wide, green world of summer. In one of the most notable chapters, a bee stings Henry, and boy does it HURT!! Fortunately, good ol' Mudge is there to make Henry feel better (a good face-licking by Mudge helps Henry forget his pain at being stung-Mudge likes the salty taste of tears).

As a teacher I love the H&M series because the illustrations are always bright, vibrant and immediately draw my students into the story. I also love the short, easy sentences, which are perfect for beginning-to-intermediate readers who feel that they're ready to tackle chapter books. As a parent, I love the way that this series is about the small adventures in life that are right on the level of the reader. Nothing blows up, aliens don't invade the countryside sucking out peoples' innards, and the world isn't narrowly saved from oblivion. Mudge is a wonderfully realistic dog that is completely devoted to Henry, like most real dogs are devoted to the children they live with.

As of this writing, there are some 20 H&M books, each a small treasure and each a wonderful read. Though they're numbered, it's not at all necessary to begin with #1 and progress up to #20; readers can grab whichever title catches their whim and follow along with the adventures. I myself have read them all and am not so patiently waiting for the next ones to come out. Each book comes highly recommended.

My 4-year-old son, Frank, has 16 of the 18 (?) books that are available in this collection, and although all of them come hightly recommended, I believe Green Time to be the best. This book highlights all that is good about a boy and his dog. Rylant never personifies Mudge too much but depicts their relationship beutifully. When my son read about Mudge getting a bath, he giggled as each part was washed. But the biggest surprise was watching his sheer delight as Mudge shook from head-to-toe. He understands that Henry would cry when he gets stung by a bee, and he laughed when Mudge eats popcorn. These books are simple and kind, and I hope there are more.

Cynthia Ryland does it again! A wonderful book for use with teaching metaphors. Her descriptive words gives visual meaning to each sentence. A wonderful book to use with six traits writing "Voice" and teaching inference to young children. Each page is filled with words to ponder, reflect, relate and to write about. Although there is no reference to Thanksgiving, many children relate to the special day and time with relatives. A perfect book for November and a perfect title. The illustrations are beautiful; giving a feeling of warmth to the words. Every teacher should own a copy.

What happens in November? This story is beautifully illustrated to depict different activities that occur in late fall as the earth and its' creatures prepare for winter. Cynthia Rylant uses a combination of similies and metaphors to capture the reader/listner and draw them into the book. Jill Kastner's paintings blend colors to give a striking contrast on each page that grabs the eyes of the audience to pull them into the text. The realistic activities and traditions depicted in the story are brought to life by the rhthym of the text. The children nod and join in when they hear "In November, the animals sleep more. The air is chilly and they ...shiver!" As the children explore the page with their eyes, there is no doubt that they can relate to feeling chilly and shivering themselves at one time. There is no specific reference made to Thanksgiving in the text, but listners quickly pick up on the special day in November, where friends or families travel to see each other, share a special meal together, and give thanks for their many blessings. As the listners see the final page of the boook, many will oohh and aaahhh, and volunteer, they too, have traveled home after a special dinner at night. The audience of this book gains a sense of peace and belonging to our earth, as they relate to some or many of the illustrations and text in some way. CMH

We just finished reading this in my Children's Literacy class. It was an apt example of "Voice" in writing. Cynthia Rylant, whom I adore as an author, once again writes a beautifully descriptive book about the month of November. This book is a must for any children's library.

This book is a great children's book, as our ALL in this series. It is the one series that myself and my two children always look for on our bookmobile that visits us every week in town. They simply are great stories, that really leave you with a good feeling inside. You can really see the love in the stories.

Ted Tatosian Vernon Hills, Illinois

The flowing language and engaging text and illustrations encouraged my 6 year old son to try to read this "all by himself". Unlike many "early reader" books, the language is not awkward, and the repetitions are very natural. A pleasure.

My daughter, 4, loves this story best of the several Mr Putter and Tabby stories that we have read. Unlike so many children's stories, this one (and the others in the series) convey a sense of real sense of human (and cat)character. The relationship between Mr. Putter and Tabby is loving and supportive. Most important, each story -- and especially this one -- communicates a wonderful sense of life lived with joy, respect, compassion and the muted simple little "heroics" of everyday life. In this case, sharing a wonderful red-and-white remote controlled biplane with neighborhood youngsters, especially with one boy who reminds Mr. Putter of himself as a boy.

While directed mainly to children 4 to 8 years old, they have touched by wife and I as much as my daughter as we have read them at bedtime. The small price of these books is more than worth the time spent and re-spent in the simple, caring world of Mr. Putter and Tabby.

A soothing tale of creation from a perspective even a two year old can understand.

This was one of the first books I was "wowed" by when I began doing children's programming about five years ago. The story is a beautiful creation story, explaining how the world and all the wonders in it came to be. But the art work is spectacular! Moser's illustrations and Rylant's words make for an unbeatable combination. A definite addition to any Church library, but also for anyone who wishes to share the beauty of the Christian creation story with children.

Actually, I haven't read this book---my daughter did. To me. Shes a beginning reader and did quite well. She was able to enjoy the story and read it capably---which says something, I think, about the excellent quality of the author. The illustrations were fun, too. Henry's cousin, Annie, "deserves" a nice pet. Search out the perfect pet for her with Henry and his parents.

My name is Morgan ...... and I am six years old. I have read all of the Henry and Mudge books and this one is my all time favorite. I am a big pet fan and Annie finding the perfect pet (she got to choose from a bunch) made me very happy. I could not wait to turn the pages and find out which pet Annie would pick. I was very happy that she choose the cute white bunny. Henry and Mudge books are the best! And my mom loves them too!

Massive Mudge is much more than a mere mutt. He is a tail-wagger, toenail-chewer, moth-eater, and breaker of grandmother's things. Most importantly however, he is Henry's best friend. Beginning readers will feel right at home amongst the words and illustrations of Rylant's tender story about a boy and his bog on a visit to grandmother's house. Unobtrusively, Stevenson's iluustrations harmonize with Rylant's words. Where Rylant describes grandmother's "strange house with a dark yard," Stevenson contributes a double-page illustration depicting the darkness of the yard where a racoon, owl, and assorted bats live. The images buttress the comprehension and readability of challenging words without suffocating them in a sea of lines and color. For example, as Henry voices his anxieties about a bear, bobcat, moth, and mouse, simplistic cartoon-like pictures of each animal are nearby, offering visual clues. Chapters punctuate the book's action-filled but will not intimidate young readers, for the five-word lines within do not exceed 10per page. Lengthy words like "fingernails" appear repeatedly and readers can dissect protracted sentences into more manageable chunks with assistance from commas and brief lines: "Henry bit his fingernails, (new line) Mudge bit his toenails, (new line)and the car drove on." Inexperienced readers, reassured by the resolution of Henry's realistic woes of sleeping in a strange new setting, will see this young dog-lover and comic-book-reader as a contemporary and as a source of comfort. With confidence in their reading, children will become lost in this Henry and Mudge adventure.

The characters of Henry, a little boy, and his big dog Mudge, a St. Bernard almost as big as Henry, appeal to my four-year-old. The easy-to-read, fun to listen to style that Cynthia Rylant brings to these stories is so welcoming that they invite you in like a warm and cozy home on a cold winter's night. These three short stories are just a few of the everyday adventures in the life of Henry and Mudge, told with catchy phrases and lots of character expressions to expose the loving friendship that they embrace. With bedtime a challenge for a pre-schooler (who has a wild immagination), we find this particular book a comforting and reassuring way to end a long day. We highly recommend this entire series, but expecially this selection. Our next favorite is "Puddle Trouble," but do read them all!

This long and growing series is terrific for all kids, but especially only children. Although Henry has no siblings and his best friends are his dog Mudge and his cousin Annie (also an only, apparently in a one-parent household), with the exception of the first book, the series does not dwell on his sibling-free status. It simply presents a well-adjusted kid enjoying a wide range activities. Henry is constructive with his time (but not so much as to be unrealistic; see "Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend"), sociable, not prone to loneliness and never portrayed as pining for a little brother or sister. As the parent of an "only", I find the whole series great for subtly conveying an affirmative message without beating it over the head.
To be sure, Henry's is a somewhat idealized, white-kid, small-town life and the books are not entirely p.c. - the illustrations of the family car never seem to picture seat belts and Henry's diet apparently includes lots of hot dogs, potato chips and refined sugar. But as part of a wider reading program, Henry and Mudge provide a great series of simple chapter books to be read to youngsters or read by beginning readers.

My children love this book. My 2 year old wanted this for hisbedtime story every night for 2 weeks. It is still one of hisfavorites. His 4 year old sister loves all of the Henry & Mudge books, but she especially loves this one. She keeps asking if we can have a pinata at her party. I like it because it is short enough for the whole book to be a bedtime story.