From: Brian and Liz Yanoff <byanoff>
Date: Thu, 3 Aug 2000 23:37:51 -0400

Laurie wrote:
"Does anyone think that kids today might find Henry Huggins and his neighborhood dated now? I loved that time, as it reminded me of my own childhood. But I wonder what kids today think?"

This fall my 3rd and 4th grade students studied Beverly Cleary to celebrate the publishing of the new Ramona book. We read as many Cleary books as we could find. My students reveled in the characters and talked about how the characters were "just like real kids". Many of my students discussed how the characters had problems which kids today might face. Also interesting for this age group were the animals featured in each book. We smiled and were fascinated by some of the expressions and timely elements of Henry Huggins, but my students enjoyed the book for its story as well.

I've found that Cleary has a way of writing about key events of childhood that we can all appreciate whether we are 8 or 88! My favorite Ramona scene is when she gets her brand new boots. Don't we all remember something special like that from our own childhood?

Liz Yanoff
Received on Thu 03 Aug 2000 10:37:51 PM CDT