Henry Huggins

Money is a tangible and essential part of the adult world. Adult concerns about money contrast with the concerns of children, which revolve around living in the moment, largely unaware of the cost of living or the financial impact of their choices. However, Henry Huggins is an exception because he is constantly aware of how much money he has saved and how more money he needs. In Chapter 1, Henry is keenly aware of the cost of bus fare and must run calculations in his head to purchase the supplies he needs to transport Ribsy home while still having have enough to pay his fare. Money becomes a central motif in almost every chapter of the novel as Henry counts his pennies and plots and schemes to generate more income, either to make his life better or to fix his mistakes. In Chapter 2, Henry visits the pet store and takes a quick inventory of what he can afford. After the guppy conundrum, Henry must return his guppies, plus the hundreds that have since appeared. He learns, to his delight, that he has generated income. The amount seems like a fortune to the young boy: “Seven dollars! Henry was astounded.