I would like to welcome you back to my families 30 Days of Reading Challenge — Week Two, Day One. I’ve been so busy I haven’t had the chance to finish the book I bought to read during the challenge. But that is okay I’m been fun reading the books my kids used to love to read.
Sometimes the books we choose for a reading challenge aren’t books we have just discovered. Sometimes they’re books that have been sitting in our memories for years. That is exactly what happened when I started thinking about what books we should feature during Week Two of our 30 Days of Reading Challenge.
I was actually thinking about another children’s book — one that had an elephant in it. Somewhere along the way, I had Henry and Mudge mixed up with that book. But when I started looking into it, I realized that Henry and Mudge wasn’t the elephant book at all. It was the dog book.
And honestly? That made it even better. Because if you know our family, you know that dogs have always been a big part of our lives. Which allows me to share a new fact about my family you may not know. Charlie just adopted a rescue dog Sandy he will be reading to with Bear.
Since my family has always been dog lovers, and now with four doggies in our house because Gunner our foster doggies is visiting there is something pretty special about sitting down with a children’s book about a boy and his dog.
But Henry and Mudge aren’t new to me. These are books I remember reading with Suzanne when she was little, along with David M my nephew and his children Lily and Jason and my other nices and nephews and my grandson Elijah and yes, Bradley to.
And when my sister and I were working on teaching David to read, we didn’t just reach for The Cat in the Hat and other Dr. Seuss books. We used books like Henry and Mudge, too. That is one of the reasons I love doing this reading challenge. Books have a way of staying with us.
A book that was once part of teaching a child to sound out words can eventually become a book that reminds you of that child, that season of life and all those hours spent sitting together reading. And sometimes a book you haven’t thought about in years suddenly comes back to you. That is what happened with Henry and Mudge.
The first book in the series is Henry and Mudge: The First Book, written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Suçie Stevenson. This is where we meet Henry, a young boy who doesn’t have other children living nearby to play with. Then Henry gets a dog. And not just any dog. Mudge is a 180-pound dog!
The story introduces us to the friendship between Henry and Mudge and the companionship that a dog can bring into a child’s life. The publisher identifies Henry and Mudge: The First Book as a Ready-to-Read Level 2 book. These books are designed for children who are beginning to read independently, making them especially useful for families who are working on reading skills.
And that is exactly why I remember books like these being useful when we were teaching David to read. They aren’t so intimidating that a beginning reader looks at the pages and immediately decides, “I can’t do this.” They have pictures. They have familiar characters.
They have stories that children can understand. And they give beginning readers the opportunity to practice reading while still enjoying a real story. Without becoming frustrated over words they can’t pronounce.
One of the things I love about Henry and Mudge is that you aren’t buying one book and then wondering what comes next. There are 32 Henry and Mudge books to explore. And that gives families a lot of choices. You can start with the first book, just like we’re doing today. But you don’t have to. In fact, I want to make that very clear.
You don’t have to read Henry and Mudge in order. If you see a title that catches your child’s eye, pick it up. If you’re at the library and your child notices a Henry and Mudge book because the cover looks interesting, pick it up. If there is a title that reminds you of your family, pick it up.
If your child loves dogs and sees a title that makes them want to know what happens, pick it up. Reading doesn’t have to become another set of rules. Sometimes the best thing we can do for a beginning reader is give them a little bit of choice.
And if I were choosing a Henry and Mudge book simply because it fit our family, I have a feeling we might not have started with the first one. We probably would have chosen Henry and Mudge Best Friends Forever (Ready to Read Level 2).
Because with four dogs in our home, that title would have caught my attention immediately. Dogs really are some of the best friends we have ever had. So if Best Friend is the book that makes your child want to read, start there. You can always go back and read the first book later.
When my sister and I were trying to teach David to read, we learned something that I think is still important today. You need books that children and even adults want to read. Yes, we used The Cat in the Hat which was one of the Dr. Seuss. books Suzzane loved growing up along with Charlie.
Those books are wonderful because of their rhythm, repetition, word play and silliness. But we also used books like Henry and Mudge because different books give children different opportunities to practice.
And when a child becomes familiar with a character, that familiarity can make reading feel more comfortable. They already know Henry. They know Mudge. They know that these stories are about the adventures and everyday life of a boy and his dog.
So instead of having to learn an entirely new world every time they open a book, they get to return to characters they already recognize. That can be encouraging for a child who is still gaining confidence as a reader. And confidence matters.
Because there is a huge difference between saying: “I have to read this.” and saying: “I want to read another Henry and Mudge book.” Which is what my children used to say and even David when we would ask him what book he wanted to read that night as we let him practice his reading.
Henry and Mudge With is also one of those books that can easily become a family read. You don’t have to hand the book to a child and walk away. Sit down together. Take turns. Let your child read a page. You read a page. Talk about the pictures. Ask what they think is going to happen. Let them tell you what they remember from the story.
And if you have a dog? Let the dog join you. With four doggies in our house, I can already imagine how this would go. One dog would probably stay for the whole story. Another would decide that reading time was the perfect time to ask for attention.
And somebody would probably get up and walk away right in the middle of the book. That’s okay. The goal isn’t to create a perfectly quiet classroom. The goal is to create a positive memory around reading.
If you’re homeschooling, one little book can become the starting point for an entire morning of learning. You can talk about friendship. Why was Henry lonely? How did Mudge change Henry’s life? What makes someone a good friend?
You can talk about animals. What kind of dog would your child choose? How big is Mudge compared with your family dog? You can even turn Mudge’s 180-pound weight into a simple math activity.
How much does your dog weigh? How many pounds heavier is Mudge? How many smaller dogs would equal Mudge’s weight? For younger children, you can practice letters and sounds. Find words that begin with H. Find words that begin with M.
Practice the sounds in Henry and Mudge. Look for words your child already knows. You can also practice story comprehension without turning the experience into a worksheet. Ask your child to tell you what happened at the beginning, middle and end.
Have them draw their favorite scene. Then let them tell you about their picture. For a child who is ready for more writing, ask: “If you had a dog like Mudge, what would you do together?” That one question could turn into a picture, a few sentences or an entire little story.
And that’s one of my favorite things about using children’s books for homeschool. You don’t have to force the lesson. The book gives you the starting point. Come and join us this morning as we read Henry and Mudge: The First Book.
One of the things I want us to remember during this 30 Days of Reading Challenge is that reading should be enjoyable. If we’re trying to create lifelong readers, we don’t want children to think of books only as something they have to read because an adult told them to.
Let them choose sometimes. Put several books in front of them. Visit the library. Look at the covers. Read the titles. Let them pick the one that interests them. And if they pick a Henry and Mudge book that isn’t number one? That’s perfectly fine.
Maybe they choose Henry and Mudge Best Friends Forever (Ready to Read Level 2) Maybe they choose another title because they like the picture on the cover. Maybe the title makes them laugh. Maybe it reminds them of their own dog. Let them pick it.
There are 32 books in the series, and there is plenty of time to discover them. We’re starting with the first book because it is the beginning of Henry and Mudge’s story. But your family’s reading journey doesn’t have to look exactly like ours.
If you don’t already have a Henry and Mudge book at home, check your local library first. That’s one of the wonderful things about a reading challenge — you don’t have to purchase every book we talk about. But if you want to add these books to your home library, they are also available through Amazon and other booksellers.
So here we are. Day One of Week Two of our 30 Days of Reading Challenge. And we’re starting with a big dog, a little boy and a book that has been part of my family’s reading memories for years.
I read Henry and Mudge with Suzanne when she was little. I remember using books like these with David when my sister and I were working on teaching him to read. We read Dr. Seuss The Cat in the Hat. And we read books like Henry and Mudge.
Those memories are part of the reason I believe so strongly that reading isn’t just about learning how to pronounce words. Reading is about making memories. It’s about sitting beside someone. It’s about hearing a child sound out a word for the first time.
It’s about watching their face light up when they realize they just read a whole sentence by themselves. It’s about finding a character they love and asking for another book. And sometimes, years later, it’s about picking up that same book and remembering the child who once sat beside you.
That’s what I hope we create during these 30 days. Not a race. Not a competition. Not a requirement to finish a certain number of books. Just 30 minutes of reading each day. One page. One chapter. One story. One memory at a time.
And if a dog happens to curl up beside you while you’re reading? Even better. So today, find your copy of Henry and Mudge: The First Book. Read it with your child. Read it by yourself. Read it with your grandchild. Read it with your dog sitting beside you.
And then, when you’re ready for another Henry and Mudge adventure, remember: You don’t have to read them in order. If a title catches your eye, pick it up. If a title fits your family, pick it up. If your child says, “I want that one,” pick it up.
Because sometimes the book a child chooses for themselves is the book that helps turn them into a reader. And that’s what we’re here to do. 30 Minutes of Reading. Day One of Week Two. Come read with us.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. If you purchase through one of my links, I may earn a small commission at no additional cost to you. These purchases help support our blog and allow us to continue sharing books, reading challenges, family memories and ideas for families.
Grateful, Thankful, and Blessed.
Thank you,
Glenda, Charlie and David Cates