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Authors: Beverly Cleary

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Ramona beamed. There was nothing she liked better than pretending.

Henry relaxed and set the head on her shoulders. “Now remember,” he cautioned. “A mechanical man can't move very fast, and he jerks along when he walks.” That was to keep her from getting any ideas about being a robot who delivered papers.

“Clank, clank,” answered Ramona, jerking down the steps.

“A mechanical man can't bend at the waist, because he doesn't have any,” Henry added.

“Clank,” answered Ramona.

Henry and Beezus exchanged a look of relief. His route was safe! Henry could see
that Beezus was impressed with his idea. And it was pretty smart of him to think of it, Henry thought modestly. Maybe he wasn't a genius like Murph, but he wasn't so dumb, either. In some ways he was even smarter than Murph. Henry found himself pleased with the thought of being smarter than a genius.

“Henry, what a wonderful idea!” Beezus sounded truly grateful. “Now she will be lots easier to chase.”

Henry grinned. “Well, so long,” he said, and mounted his bicycle. “I've got to get on with my route.”
His route
. Henry felt like shouting the words so the whole world could hear them, because at last he was doing what he wanted to do—something important. And on Saturday he and Murph would start building their own private telephone line. Good old Murph! It was lucky he had moved into the neighborhood. Life,
Henry discovered, was suddenly so full of interesting things to do that he rode his bicycle through a pile of autumn leaves in the gutter just for the joy of hearing them crackle.

“Clank, clank!” Ramona yelled after him.

“Clank, clank!” answered Henry.

About the Author

BEVERLY CLEARY
is one of America's most popular authors. Born in McMinnville, Oregon, she lived on a farm in Yamhill until she was six and then moved to Portland. After college, as the children's librarian in Yakima, Washington, she was challenged to find stories for non-readers. She wrote her first book,
HENRY HUGGINS
, in response to a boy's question, “Where are the books about kids like us?”
      Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Her
DEAR MR
.
HENSHAW
was awarded the 1984 John Newbery Medal, and both
RAMONA QUIMBY
,
AGE
8 and
RAMONA AND HER FATHER
have been named Newbery Honor Books. In addition, her books have won more than thirty-five statewide awards based on the votes of her young readers. Her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations. Mrs. Cleary lives in coastal California.

Visit Henry Huggins and all of his friends in The World of Beverly Cleary at www.beverlycleary.com.

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Enjoy all of Beverly Cleary's books

FEATURING RAMONA QUIMBY
:

Beezus and Ramona

Ramona the Pest

Ramona the Brave

Ramona and Her Father

Ramona and Her Mother

Ramona Quimby, Age 8

Ramona Forever

Ramona's World

FEATURING HENRY HUGGINS
:

Henry Huggins

Henry and Beezus

Henry and Ribsy

Henry and the Paper Route

Henry and the Clubhouse

Ribsy

FEATURING RALPH MOUSE
:

The Mouse and the Motorcycle

Runaway Ralph

Ralph S. Mouse

MORE GREAT FICTION BY BEVERLY CLEARY
:

Ellen Tebbits

Otis Spofford

Fifteen

The Luckiest Girl

Jean and Johnny

Emily's Runaway Imagination

Sister of the Bride

Mitch and Amy

Socks

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Muggie Maggie

Strider

Two Times the Fun

AND DON'T MISS BEVERLY CLEARY'S AUTOBIOGRAPHIES
:

A Girl from Yamhill

My Own Two Feet

Credits

Jacket art by Tracy Dockray

Jacket design by Amy Ryan

Copyright

HENRY AND THE PAPER ROUTE
. Copyright © 1957, renewed 1985 by Beverly Cleary. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.

EPub © Edition SEPTEMBER 2009 ISBN: 9780061972225

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

About the Publisher

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Canada

HarperCollins Canada

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http://www.harpercollinsebooks.co.nz

United Kingdom

HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.

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London, W6 8JB, UK

http://www.uk.harpercollinsebooks.com

United States

HarperCollins Publishers Inc.

10 East 53rd Street

New York, NY 10022

http://www.harpercollinsebooks.com

BOOK: Henry and the Paper Route
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