"Old Henry" is an amazing, sweet story about a man who moves into an abandoned house in a neighborhood. The neighbors want him to fix up the house and live a more conventional life like they do, but Henry is perfectly happy living in the house the way it is and enjoying life the way he wants to. It is a touching tale of acceptance and it warms my heart every time I read it. The book is written in rhyming poem format which adds to the uniqueness of the story. The illustrations by Stephen Gammell are amazing to look at as well. ( )

In my opinion this is a good book for a few reasons mainly looking at characters and writing. The main character in the story is a solitary man who moves from out of town to live in a deserted house at the end of a neighborhood. Thinking he could get peace and keep to himself, his neighbors ask many things from him and begin to find him odd. The author really develops this character’s personality through his actions and responses to neighbors’ requests, as we shown his more unfriendly side. For example, “Still the hollyhocks wilted, unwanted, unkept, the gatepost stayed crooked, the walk stayed unswept. And things went on as they’d begun, and he angered his neighbors, one by one”.

A second reason why I think this is a good book is the writing of the story and poetic flow of thoughts. The words seem to roll of your tongue and many sentences include a rhyme as this makes the reading more engaging. I found the main message of the book to be that, in times when you may not want others in your life, you realize how much they cared for you deep down when you decide to open yourself up to them. ( )

There are three reasons that I liked this book. First, the language was clear and descriptive at the same time. The author described the abandoned house as “drafty, dark and gray.” Secondly, the illustrations were fantastic and complimented the text. They were also very unique and detailed. For example, they illustrated the abandoned house with cracks in the walls and broken glass in the windows. Lastly, I enjoyed this book because it pushes the reader to think about tough issues. Specifically, this book pushed the reader to think about outsiders and people who aren’t always accepted. The message of the story is to accept people for who they are while realizing everyone is different. ( )

This book is about this guy named Henry, he has a different living style in the village. A lot of people do not like him, so he eventually moved away from the town. Yet, in the end Henry wrote a letter back to town, and in this point it is left up to the readers interpretation.
This book is a great book to educate children that everyone is different, and never judge a book without opening it.
This is a good read for 3rd- 4th grade. ( )

Henry lives in an old and ugly house while his neighbors dislike him because they want him to fix it up. He then leaves and the neighbors start to miss him. Henry then writes to the mayor to see if he can come back because he misses his old and ugly home. I like this book because it teaches a lesson and has a good storyline. The grades this is appropriate for is 1-3.