Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas

Written by Cynthia Rylant

Narrated by George Guidall

Henry and his slobbering dog Mudge are visiting Great-Grandpa Bill, who lives in a house with lots of other grandpas. Henry likes the grandpas because they play checkers and rock in rocking chairs. Mudge likes them because they feed him mint candies. When Henry and Mudge leave the house to go exploring, they find a beautiful swimming pond. They come back to let everybody know, and soon all the grandpas want to go swimming. Henry's father says, "We'll have to go in our Skivvies." Before long they are all enjoying a nice day of swimming in their underwear! Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas won the first-ever Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for a distinguished beginning reader book. Newbery Medalist Cynthia Rylant has charmed countless children-and their parents-with this gently humorous series, and Recorded Books offers a large selection of Henry and Mudge's tales.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Recorded Books, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 19, 2008
• ISBN: 9781436169554

Cynthia Rylant

Cynthia Rylant is a Newbery medalist and the author of many acclaimed books for young people. She's well known for her popular characters for early readers, including Mr. Putter & Tabby and Henry & Mudge. She lives in the Pacific Northwest. cynthiarylant.com

Reviews for Henry and Mudge and the Great Grandpas

[ramfam5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I gave this book 3 stars because of it's easy read. The Henry and Mudge series are popular with young readers because the characters are interesting and the book is easy to read. Let's not forget it's a chapter book. I have a few of these books in my classroom library. My son and daughter started out reading these books when they was in 2nd grade.

[dorthys-2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Great little early reader for children. Henry and Mudge go with his parents to visit Henry's great grandpa who lives in a home in the country with many other great grandpas. They get to take a swim in the pond and have spaghetti for dinner. This is a good book to teach children the value of family and older family members. I really liked this one.

[brettch · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I hadn't read a Henry and Mudge book in a very long time. I did not know they had still made any so recently. I like the bond between boy and dog. When I was learning to read I liked reading Henry and Mudge books because I had a dog and it reminded me of my bond that I had with my dog. This book fit the same pattern as the ones I remembered. Looked like possibly water colored illustrations with simple but not too simple backgrounds. This book also got an award but I do not think it grabbed me as an award winning picture book, but that is just my opinion.

[jenj5 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Henry and Mudge are one of the venerated easy reader series, but they are not for the very beginning readers, but for those who are slightly more advanced. Great Grandpas never has more than seven lines of text per page, but it also doesn't have the same repetition and rhymes that mark those books intended for the earliest readers. The story is a gentle one revolving around a visit to Henry's grandpa who lives with several other grandpas - although it appears not in a nursing home. The idea of a house full of grandpas will appeal to kids and the story of all the grandpas swimming in a nearby pond in their underwear will make everyone laugh. Sucie Stevenson illustates in pen-and-ink and watercolor with the watercolors not always staying exactly insid the lines. The artwork is well-suited to the story with the pictures providing plenty of clues to help readers decode the text. This is a fine entry in a classic series.

[rgraf1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book tells the story about Henry and his dog Mudge. They visit Henry's grandpa in a home for old people. At the end of the day Henry, his Dad and his grandpa with all the other grandpas go swimming in a pond and they are having a lot of fun. It's a wonderful and also funny story - I enjoyed reading it a lot! This book can show children how much it is and how important it is to spend time with their family members.

[kimbykunishige · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This book is a short/long book. what I mean by short/long book is that it has the appearance of a long book with different chapters, but is fairly simple. This book explains who Henry and Mudge are and they go to visit their grandpa who lives in an elderly living community. Any child who wants to read a chapter book, but is not ready to read a complex chapter book, this is the book for them.

[justiceevans · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Henry the boy and Mudge the dog do many things together. In this story, they visit the grandpas at the grandpa house and see what old people do. Much grandparenty love and doggie humor occur.Henry and Mudge books are another wonderful resource for introducing longer form books to young readers. The early chapter book style of these stories help give young readers confidence and a sense of pride in their ability to read bigger and bigger books.

[mckennamiller · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love this book in the Henry and Mudge series. It's great because it reflects from a childhood perspective of a trip to an old folks home. Where anything different from hanging out at home is a blast, especially with your best friend Mudge. It totally reminds me of an experience I had as a kid: playing cards, going on adventures and swimming in a water hole with the grandparents. I love the illustrations in this series and I think that the writing is simple yet effective.

[debrasw · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Summary: This story was of a boy and a dog who went to visit their grandpa for a day. It talked about the house the grandpa lived in with other grandpas and how the boy and dog got to explore and be loved on by everyone there. Then they got to go out looking for an adventure when they stumbled upon a great swimming pond. They went back to the house gathered up all the grandpas and then all swam in their underware. Then they got back and ate spaghetti.Genre: This story is an example of Realistic Fiction because it shows us a story of a boy and his dog and how they enjoy life while visiting their grandpa. It is something that could happen in real life, but it did not happen to these characters. Therefore it is realistic yet fictional.Characterization: I believe the dog is one of the protagonists in this story. He is always there and everyone loves him. We know this because the narrator tells us that the grandfathers pet him and like it when he comes by. We also know that the dog does not mind when people lay on him or lean on him for support because the narrator told us that too. We get a lot of information about the feelings of the dog from the narrator of the story. It is a flat character because we never see it triumph over difficult odds or even go through anything that would make him change. Media: pen-and-ink, watercolor

[alphaselene · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

4Q; 4P. This story of a young boy's visit to his grandfather's nursing home accompanied by his dog is a tender portrait of this modern family experience and will appeal to many beginning readers.

[misscopaneca · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I love the Henry and Mudge series! In this story, Henry, Mudge, and parents pay a visit to their great-grandpa, as well as many other grandpas. The visit is a treat for everyone, with games, woods exploration, a swim in the pond, and a spaghetti dinner. This would be a great addition to a 1st or 2nd grade classroom library, and could be used in lessons regarding family, relationships, or community.

[bperkins07_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Genre: This story is realistic fiction. This fits because it is about a boy, his family, and his dog. In this story he visits his great-grandpa in an elder care home. He enjoys the company of the elderly. Later they go find a pond and all the grandpas go swimming together there. Lastly, they all enjoy spaghetti together.Stars: Plot

[savannah5julian · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is the 26th adventure of Henry and Mudge, but it's still just as cute as the first. Henry and Mudge go and visit Henry's great grandpa in a house where he lives with other great grandpas. The grandpas love when H&M come because they always have a good time. This time they all went swimming in a pond that Henry discovered, ate a lot of spaghetti that Henry's mom made, and then the grandpa's told them stories about their lives.

[brookebrush · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Age Appropriateness: PrimaryGenre: Realistic FictionReview: This was a good example of realistic fiction, because boys hang out with their dog in real life and have adventures.Comments: - Ask students to write about what they do with their families. - When Henry and Mudge are near water, ask students if it is safe for them to be by themselves.Media: Watercolors

[emilywilhite · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Review: This book is a good example of realistic fiction because it deals with real life experiences. When Henry and his dog, Mudge, go with Henry's parents to visit Great-Grandpa Billin the home with lots of other grandpas, they lead them all on a wonderful adventure.Level: Primary, Intermediate

[amber_88 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an example of realistic fiction because boys visiting their grandfathers in retirement homes is a common occurrence that happens at any time, although this specific story didn't actually happen. This story is too short to critique the plot, setting, or characters.

[katrinafroelich · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A delightful humorous story of intergenerational skinny dipping, storytelling, and fun. The language is rich with wonderful humourous vcabulary (underwear, skivvies, butterscotch candies). The illustrations give a realistic loacation to the adventure and action, and give information about the diversity of the grandpas. My only criticism is that mom is left to cook a meal for all the men while they go swim in the pond.

[aconant05 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Henry and Mudge visit the house where Henry's great grandpa and many other great grandpas live. They spend a whole day with these grandpas and never get bored!

[kshielee · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a good example of realistic fiction because it is a story that is not true, but relates to a child's life culturally and the characters, setting, and plot are contemporary. Henry is a round character because he is a well developed character that children can identify with.

[t1bclasslibrary · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A very cute story about enjoying time with elderly family members: Henry, Mudge, and his parents go to visit Great-Grandpa Bill in his retirement home. Henry and Mudge enjoy spending time there, but also have fun going for a walk in the woods out back. They find a great swimming hole in the woods and everyone goes for a swim, before returning for a pasta dinner. A very positive story.