Beverly Cleary Author Study: The Luckiest Girl

No illustrations because this is another young adult book.

Shelley feels stuck in her Oregon life, so when she has the opportunity to live her junior year with family friends in California, she jumps at the chance. Everything is so new and different that she feels confident being her real self in a way she didn’t in Oregon. On her first day of school, she meets Hartley, but she has her sights set on Phil, the tall, handsome basketball player who sits next to her in biology.

Again, this book is low stakes when compared to contemporary young adult fiction. “Quaint” is an appropriate term, but it’s a feel-good story and I think it’s worth the read for the fun of it, if not to also get a peek into how teenagers used to socialize and date.

Beverly Cleary Author Study: Henry and the Paper Route

Illustrations by Louis Darling, though my copy

has a revised cover by JoAnn Scribner.

Henry has been filling in on Scooter’s paper route for a few books, but now he’s determined to get his own. However, he’s not old enough, so he has to wait. Or, in true Henry Huggins fashion, try to prove his worth. Except how can he, when four kittens need to be rescued and old papers need to be collected for a school drive?

A new boy named Murph moves into the neighborhood at the end of this book. Henry wants to become his friend, but Murph seems like a genius! He’s building his own robot and doesn’t have much in common with Henry, except that he’s also interested in a paper route...