Reading Aloud ::: Henry Reed, Inc.

I just finished reading one of my favorite childhood books with the girls. Henry Reed, Inc. As if you couldn't tell by the cover, this book is pretty dated. Set in the sixties, it tells the story of a military kid, 14 year old Henry Reed. Henry has lived all over the world with his parents but has spent little to no time in the United States. He gets the opportunity to spend the summer with his uncle and aunt in rural Grover's Corner, New Jersey. With the assistance of his neighbor, 12 year old Midge Glass, he runs Henry Reed Research, Inc. and goes into business for himself. They find all sorts of ways to make a few dollars around the neighborhood and keep themselves entertained ... along with getting into an innocent scrape or two along the way.

This book was so fun to share with my girls. While most of the books that we read are not set in the current day and age, it was fun to read about these kids who entertained themselves outside most of the day, looked up information in books if they were interested in something, and got around primarily by walking, riding bikes or, on the rare occasion, using the riding tractor to get around the neighborhood. My girls loved the story and laughed aloud over the situations that Henry and Midge got themselves into. It also was a fun book to read as we are nearing the end of our school year and we are thinking of ways to fill our days this summer - it's possible to do so without the aid of screens or electronic devices! : )

We give a hearty recommendation to this book if you aren't familiar with Henry Reed. There are several books in this series ... I blogged another of my favorites in this series, Henry Reed's Journey several years ago and you can read that review here.