Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend

The Henry and Mudge series is among the favorite list in our house. We discovered it at the library and have read them all now. This is a typically book in the series and tells the story about how Henry, Henry's Dad, and Henry's big dog Mudge survive a gloomy February weekend. Highly recommended to Mudge lovers everywhere!

This is an easy-to-read book about being caught inside on a nasty day. My 1st grader read this book to the family on a cold, nasty February Saturday morning. It was a great "text-to-text" connection to have a book about being trapped inside on a weekend morning--we could totally identify. And later, the book inspired my kids to make their own couch-cushions fort instead of complaining about being bored! The Henry and Mudge books are such a wonderful series. The charming water color and ink pictures--and the realistic kid adventures--create an engaging experience for early readers. The author does an almost magical job relaying the fears, temptations and ambitions of childhood. Also, many kids can identify with Henry's passionate love for his big dog, Mudge. Plus, this series will appeal to both boys and girls. The series is at the 1st grade reading level. This book is a "chapter" book (not a "baby" book) with 3 Chapters, and about 40 pages of half text, half artwork. (Just to give you an idea of the reading level, the Henry and Mudge books are easier than Magic Tree House, but harder than the advanced Bob books.) Note: you might want to purchase Henry And Mudge First Book before this book or with this book. It introduces the characters used in the rest of the series. Enjoy! P. Gould, co-author of Feeding the Kids: The Flexible, No-Battles, Healthy Eating System for the Whole Family (Fork and Spoon Field Guides) (Fork and Spoon Field Guides)

I really like this book--how the parents think that Henry is important enough for their time and energy, how they eat pizza, how the dog just chews a boot and is a sweet, goofy dog. Rylant captures "real" family life and the importance of our kids, and I thank her for that.

Our names are Luisa, Casey, Tom, Joshua, Tim, Megan, Alex, and Janae. We read Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend. Here is our summary of the book: Henry and Mudge got up one Saturday Morning in February and looked outside. The weather was disgusting. They couldn't go outside and there was nothing to do. Everything was boring to Henry and Mudge. They were so bored that Henry and Mudge went to sleep on the couch with Dad. Henry's mother had the idea to make a castle out of the big refrigerator and stove boxes. Henry, Mom, and Dad started making the castle. Mom drew, Dad cut, Henry stapled, and Mudge chewed an old boot. The family woke up the next morning and started to work on the castle. Mom read the newspaper and drank coffee. Henry and his father finished the castle. They showed it to Mom. It looked nice. It looked like a real castle. Mom, Dad, Henry, and Mudge had a good weekend!

I love the story line. A family working together on a yukky weekend minus the TV to do something fun. I esp. loved the picture of mom sitting at the table reading the paper while dad and son were building the castle in the basement. My kindergartener loved it! We will definitely read more of these books!