READY-TO-READ e Story by Cynthia Rylant Pictures by Sugie StevensonHenry and Mudge have had many adventures together and you can read them all! Look for these great stories: 2-98528-689-0 NAST NvO 0s's$ / 66'eS SN Henry and Mudge Henry and Mudge in Puddle Trouble Henry and Mudge in the Green Time Henry and Mudge Under the Yellow Moon Henry and Mudge in the Sparkle Days Henry and Mudge and the Forever Sea Henry and Mudge Get the Cold Shivers Henry and Mudge and the Happy Cat Henry and Mudge and the Bedtime Thumps Henry and Mudge Take the Big Test Henry and Mudge and the Long Weekend Henry and Mudge and the Wild Wind Henry and Mudge and the Careful Cousin Henry and Mudge and the Best Day of All Henry and Mudge in the Family Trees Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers Henry and Mudge and the Starry Night Henry and Mudge and Annie's Good MoveHenry and Mudge AND THE Starry Night The Seventeenth Book of Their Adventures Story by Cynthia Rylant Pictures by Sucie Stevenson READY-TO-READ ALADDIN PAPERBACKSFor Virginia Duncan, with many thanks—CR For Travis and Grayson Voges—SS THE HENRY AND MUDGE BOOKS First Aladdin Paperbacks Edition May 1999 Text copyright © 1998 by Cynthia Rylant Illustrations copyright © 1998 by Sucie Stevenson ‘Aladdin Paperbacks ‘An imprint of Simon & Schuster Children’s Publishing Division 1230 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY 10020 All rights reserved including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in any form READY-TO-READ is a registered trademark of Simon & Schuster, Inc. 7 Also available in a Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers hardcover edition. ‘The text of this book was set in 18-point Goudy ‘The illustrations were rendered in pen-and-ink and watercolor Printed and bound in the United States of America 1098765432 ‘The Library of Congress has cataloged the hardcover edition as follows: Rylant, Cynthia, Henry and Mudge and the starry night : the seventeenth book of their adventures / by Cynthia Rylant ; illustrated by Sugie Stevenson. p. _ cm.—(The Henry and Mudge books) ‘Summary: Henry, his big dog Mudge, and his parents go on a quiet camping trip to Big Bear Lake, enjoying the clean smell of trees and wonderful green dreams. ISBN 0-689-81175-6 (he.) (1. Dogs—Fiction. 2. Camping—Fietion,| I. Stevenson, Sugie, il. 11. Title. III. Series: Rylant, Cynthia. Henry and Mudge books. PZ7,.R982Hear 1998 [E|—de21 96-44443 ISBN 0-689-82586-2 (Aladdin pbk.)Contents Big Bear Lake 5 A Good Smelly Hike 17 Green Dreams 31Big Bear Lake In August Henry and Henry’s big dog Mudge always went camping. They went with Henry’s parents.Henry’s mother had been a Camp Fire Girl, so she knew all about camping. She knew how to set up a tent.She knew how to build a campfire.Henry’s dad didn’t know anything about camping. He just came with a guitar and a smile.Henry and Mudge loved camping. This year they were going to Big Bear Lake, and Henry couldn’t wait.“We'll see deer, Mudge,” Henry said. Mudge wagged.“We'll see raccoons,” said Henry. Mudge shook Henry’s hand.12 “We might even see a bear,” Henry said.Henry was not so sure he wanted to see a bear. He shivered and put an arm around Mudge.Mudge gave a big, slow, loud yawn. He drooled on Henry’s foot.Henry giggled. “No bear will get us, Mudge,” Henry said. “We're too slippery!”Aa ’ A Good Smelly Hike << Henry and Mudge and Henry’s parents drove to Big Bear Lake. They parked the car and got ready to hike.Everyone had a backpack, even Mudge. (His had lots of crackers.) Henry’s mother said, “Let’s go!” And off they went.They walked and walked and climbed and climbed. It was beautiful.Henry saw a fish jump straight out of a stream. He saw a doe and her fawn. 20He saw waterfalls and a rainbow. 21Mudge didn’t see much of anything. He was smelling. 22Mudge loved to hike and smell. He smelled a raccoon from yesterday. He smelled a deer from last night. 2324 He smelled an oatmeal cookie from Henry’s back pocket. “Mudge!” Henry laughed, giving Mudge the cookie.Le NDE ers 52, iS 2 OB at cae PA ’s mother picked Finally Henry26 Henry’s parents set up the tent. Henry unpacked the food and pans and lanterns. Mudge unpacked a ham sandwich. Finally the camp was almost ready. It needed just one more thing:“Who knows the words to ‘Love Me Tender’?” said Henry’s father with a smile, pulling out his guitar. Henry looked at Mudge and groaned. 2830 sdGreen Dreams It was a beautiful night. Henry and Henry’s parents lay on their backs by the fire and looked at the sky. 31ZN “There’s E. T.,” said Henry’s dad.Mudge wasn’t looking at stars. He was chewing on a log. He couldn’t get logs this good at home. Mudge loved camping.36 Henry’s father sang one more sappy love song, then everyone went inside the tent to sleep.Henry’s father and mother snuggled. Henry and Mudge snuggled.It was as quiet as quiet could be. Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. 39 gFZ) Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams. 40“I live in Oregon with my son, Nate, and our two dogs and one large cat. I have always loved pets. Raised in the country in West Virginia, I was surrounded by hound dogs and barn cats. “When I grew up and found myself raising a boy and dogs, I was inspired to write the Henry and Mudge stories. | know all about cold shivers, big tests, happy cats, and wild winds. And especially big drooly lovable dogs.” —Cynthia Rylant “I live by the sea on Cape Cod. I draw pictures for children’s books full time. I also write my own books. Recently, I retold some of the classic fairy tales. It makes me laugh to draw animals wearing clothes, so I draw the princes and princesses as different animals. “I love drawing the Henry and Mudge series. The family characters are so real and kind. I adore Mudge. I love big dogs. Ihave two Labrador retriever dogs. They sleep under my desk while I work. If I ever forget how Mudge would act, I just look under my desk. They don't drool as much as Mudge, but they do take up the whole sofa!” —Sucie StevensonREADY-TO-REA In this seventeenth book of their adventures, Henry and Mudge go camping with Henry's parents. They'll go on hikes and smell good smells. They'll see deer and raccoons and waterfalls and rainbows. Henry’s mother will cook camp food and Henry’s father will sing sappy old songs, and they’ll all lie on their backs and look at the stars (except for Mudge—he'll chew on a log, instead). And at the end of a perfect day, Henry and Mudge will snuggle in their tent and dream wonderful green dreams. Ap Be ms me From the earliest stages of sounding out words to the excitement of reading a whole book with- out help, Ready-to-Read books open up a world of possibilities to children at three different levels: (LS Lever 1: Starting TO READ (OY Lever 2: READING TOGETHER (SA) Lever 3: READING ALONE i A Ready-to-Read Boo! Lad a US $3.99 / $5.50 CAN ALADDIN PAPERBACKS 1S0N 0-689-82586-2 seo 0) ii 8 Printed in the United States of America § wen sire www.SimonSaysKids.com 0 187671410039 0599