And when he goes to the new neighbor's house to sell her a subscription, his dog Ribsy embarrasses him by starting a fight with her Dalmatian.

But one winter day Henry feels sorry for Ramona, following him around in the deep snow, and takes her home on his sled before finishing his paper route.

His kindness is noticed by one of his customers, who writes a letter to the editor praising him, and Henry ends up making his father proud.

"Beverly Cleary continues to provide a measure of relief from the suffocating flood of books about unreal talking animals and stock characters in the way of dogs and ponies and horses -- for her cast of characters can be matched in any average town and recognized as the children `round the block...

"[1] About both the Ramona and Henry Huggins series, Choosing Books for Kids write, "Cleary's characters, situations, and dialogue ring true and deal with recognizable problems eights and nines have at school and at home.