Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin

I read a book titled “Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin.”  It’s an early independent reader picture book by author Cynthia Rylant and illustrator Suçie Stevenson originally published in 1994.  The story is about a little girl named Annie and her adjustment to playing at her cousin Henry’s house.

The characters in the book are depicted as individuals.  It takes place at Henry’s house where he lives with his mother, father and dog named Mudge.  Annie and her father are visiting for the night.  There are many American cultural references in this story.  For example, Henry’s family is a single family home with a dog and fish as pets.  For fun Henry plays with his dog, plays Frisbee and collect baseball cards.  He also wears a baseball cap which is a sport enjoyed by many in America.  At dinner time the family sits down at the table together with silverware, glasses, plates and napkins while they eat hot dogs, chips, peas and milk.  The children wear their shoes in the house which is acceptable in most American homes.  These cultural references create the understanding that Henry has the stereotypical American family.

Henry had the power and wisdom in this story.  Annie was visiting for the first time and often it can be difficult to acclimate to a new environment.  Henry expected that Annie would be excited to play with his messy dog Mudge who brought him so much enjoyment.  Annie wasn’t pleased when Mudge licked her face and she was disturbed by Henry’s messy room, yet she remained a polite house guest by not verbalizing her discomfort.  Although he did ask Annie what she liked to do, Henry was the one to choose activities which they engaged in.  Henry had the wisdom to know that once Annie relaxed and participated in things he liked to do, she would also have fun.  He managed to find one activity which allowed her to open up and play like a kid.  In the end, she had a great time.

Consequences of behaviors were subtle.  The conflict was about Henry and Annie finding something they could do together.  Throughout the story, the parents did not get involved with their socialization.  Henry’s behavior was met with Annie’s resistance.  For example, Henry liked playing with his dog but when Annie frowned upon it, Henry stopped.  Henry’s parents seemed to be pretty relaxed about his behavior as evidenced by his messy room and the fact that he let his dog eat off his plate in the kitchen. 

Annie is presented as a “girly” girl and Henry as a “rough and rowdy” boy.  When Henry first meets Annie he thinks she is clean and dressed up.  She is wearing a frilly dress and shiny shoes.  The pictures of her in the book match her description.  She has a pink hair bow, stockings and is carrying a little purse.  Henry looks sloppy.  His shoes are untied and his hair is shaggy. 

According to various websites (cited below), the author and illustrator of the book are inside the groups they are presenting.  They were both once little girls like Annie.  They are also dog owners like Henry so they likely understand the rewards of having a pet like Mudge.  Both women live in America therefore understandingly have knowledge of American culture and families. 

For the most part the only voices heard in the book are the children’s.  There is minimal dialog from the parents.  The story is about Henry, his cousin and his dog and their actions and dialog are primarily what are recorded.  There is some dialog in the beginning where Annie’s dad greets Henry as well as some interaction at the dinner table between Annie and her dad where her dad asks her questions and she responds non-verbally.  Henry’s parent’s voices are not heard at all.

The illustrations and story reveal messages about aspects of the characters’ lives.  There are obvious stereotypical representations of genders.  Annie is a proper girl who wears fancy dresses and doesn’t like getting dirty.  Henry’s mom is also wearing a dress, as well as jewelry and an apron which implies she was the one who prepared the meal.  These are often characteristics related to the feminine gender.  Henry is a messy little boy who seems to have no concern for his own appearance or the upkeep of his room.  Henry’s dad is also messy as evidenced by the trash in his car.  These are characteristics often associated with the masculine gender.   All the family members are Caucasian and everyone but the mom has red hair which may be an indication they are of Irish decent.  The images reveal the family has modest furniture, vehicles and clothing, running water and a white picket fence around the yard which could imply they are part of the working class.  The fence, dog, dinner and single family home are all aspects of American culture.  Finally, roles determined by age can be observed as the mom is inside cooking dinner while the children are outside playing.

There are also more stereotypes revealed in the illustrations.  Many of them are gender specific.  Annie has difficulty handling the dog kissing her.  She is grossed out and immediately grabs for a wipe to clean her face.  In some of the pictures she is holding her purse with both hands in front of her belly making her appear timid.  This is a stereotype associated with femininity.  During dinner she daintily cuts her hotdog to eat it in pieces which is also something that might be expected of a lady.  Henry on the other hand is portrayed as a dirty boy.  He walks around with his shoes untied perhaps because he doesn’t know how to tie them or because he is too lazy to.  He also rolls around on the dirty ground with his dog and eats cookies pulled out from under his bed in his filthy room.  Henry doesn’t understand why his female cousin Annie does not like the same things he does.  The characteristics revealed about him match those typically associated with the masculine gender. 

The same problem arises over and over in the story then is finally resolved.  Henry is trying to find something he and his cousin will both enjoy doing.  Annie is not interested in playing with Mudge as Henry expected she’d be.  So he tries to present her with something else.  He thinks she will be interested in his fish, but she says they stink.  So he tries to interest her in some cookies, but when she sees him pull them out from under his bed in his messy room, she refuses them.  Finally, Henry convinces her to try playing with a Frisbee.  They wind up throwing it around until it gets dark and Annie allows herself to get dirty and play like Henry. 

I would recommend this book.  It is something I think a lot of kids can relate to.  The message I got out of it is how sometimes we have to try new things to find out we like them.  Also, we need to accept that not everyone is going to like everything we like.  Finally, the book has some humor like when the dog kisses Annie she gets grossed out.  I think children enjoy reading books like this because it seems like something that might happen in real life.        

Bibliography

"Ohio Reading Road Trip | Cynthia Rylant Biography." Ohio Reading Road Trip. 2004. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. <http://www.orrt.org/rylant/>.

"Sucie Stevenson." Sucie Stevenson Fine Artist, Children's Book Illustrator, Henry and Mudge. 2011. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. <http://www.suciestevenson.com/bio-artist.html>.

                "Welcome to Live Oak Media." Live Oak Media. Web. 11 Mar. 2012. <http://www.liveoakmedia.com/contributorinfo.cfm?ContribID=214>.