Harry the Dirty Dog
We love Harry, the sweet, sneaky and funny little white dog with black spots, created by the late Gene Zion. Harry lives with his family: mom and dad, brother and sister who are referred to as the children. He loves the children and the children adore Harry.
We have read the four books in the series many times and my kids love them all. They are classic, innocent stories that make the reader want to be back in the 1950s when life was simpler. The book that we own, A Harry the Dirty Dog Treasury, contains our three favorites. If you have young boys or girls, this book is a real winner.
The most popular story, Harry the Dirty Dog, is a sweet story about Harry and his dislike for taking a bath. The story opens with Harry taking the scrubbing brush in his mouth and hiding it in the backyard to avoid a bath. He then goes one step farther and runs away from home, which begins his adventure to get as dirty as he possibly can. Harry plays by the railroad, on a road being fixed, plays a game of tag with other dogs and slides down a coal chute where he eventually changes from a white dog with black spots to a black dog with white spots. Although he is having fun, he starts to miss his family. Tired and hungry, Harry goes home to find that his family does not recognize him. He tries to show his family that he is in fact Harry by doing his famous tricks but they simply do not believe it based on his black color. In a last ditch effort to regain the trust of his family, Harry digs up the scrubbing brush, runs upstairs and begs for a bath. The children comply and they realize he is Harry after all! The family is so happy to have Harry back and Harry is equally as happy, so much so, that he goes to sleep with the scrubbing brush tucked neatly under his pillow.
No Roses for Harry is another favorite. Harry receives a sweater with roses on it from Grandma and everyone insists he wear it. Harry simply does not like the roses, feeling it looks silly, so he tries many ways to lose the sweater. Nothing works until he realizes the wool can be pulled away string by string. He is in the park, when magically; a bird comes along and pulls the rest of the sweater away until it is gone! Harry is happy once again, until he feels guilty as everyone tries in vain to find the missing sweater before Grandma comes to visit. Harry gets a brand new sweater at the end and loves it much more than the sweater with roses.
Harry By the Sea is a cute story about Harry and his family at the beach. Unfortunately for Harry, he is getting in the way so the family sends him off. He gets into mischief when a wave scoops him up and he becomes covered in seaweed. Other beach goers become afraid of him, thinking he is a sea monster and beach attendants try to catch him. Finally, the seaweed falls off and the children are overjoyed to find him once again. After that, the family stays together with Harry underneath a new white with black spots beach umbrella.
If you haven’t read these delightful books, I highly recommend them. Enjoy!