Until that spring Andrew Henry Thatcher
lived with his family in the town of Stubbsville.
He had a father and mother and two older sisters
named Marian and Martha. The girls were always
with each other. He also had two younger brothers
named Robert and Ronald.
They were always with each other too.
Andrew Henry was in the middle.
He was always with himself,
yet he didn’t mind.
He had plenty of things to do.
Andrew Henry likes to build things. But when no one in his family appreciates his inventions, although they have “many fine features,” Andrew Henry decides the next thing he will build is a house of his own in a distant meadow. Before long, eight other under-appreciated kids arrive, so Andrew Henry designs houses for each of them too, according to their interests. This part is great fun. The four days and nights of frantic searching their families undergo before the happy ending? Awful to imagine. So I point out that part of his plan was not a good one (the boys are especially struck by how sad and lonely Andrew Henry’s dog Sam is without him).
Author: Doris Burn
Illustrator: Doris Burn