Old Henry

by Blos, Joan W.. Illustrated by Stephen Gammell. (Mulberry, 1987 ISBN 0-688-09935-1) Picture Book. 32 pages. Grades 1+.
This book was reviewed by Carol Otis Hurst in Teaching K-8 Magazine.

Review

When Old Henry moves into the neighborhood, his new neighbors are delighted. Surely he will fix up the rundown house that has been bothering all of them. However, Old Henry has no intention of fixing anything up. He won't even mow the grass in summer or shovel the walk in winter. They offer to help, but he refuses to accept. They appeal to higher authorities and eventually, worn down by their harassment, he leaves. Now the house is still rundown, the grass uncut and the walk unshoveled. And they find, to their amazement, that they miss him. Henry misses his house and his yard and offers, in a letter to the mayor, a compromise.