Preview of Henry Reed, Inc. Summary:

Henry Reed, Inc. humorously, yet respectfully, portrays the progress of young people towards the goal of selfsufficiency. The main characters in the book are two adolescents who try to learn how to make a living in the way that is best suited to them as individuals. Many strange and funny things happen in their semirural neighborhood as a result of their attempts to run a very small business during summer vacation. Yet the author generates sympathy, even admiration, for their experiment. Their enthusiasm is inspiring. Henry Reed and his companion, Margaret "Midge" Glass, are fairly normal American kids, except they are a bit smarter than average and Henry is unusually well-traveled. They have flaws, but these make them seem all the more real to the reader.

Through his characters, Robertson demonstrates his ideas about what young people need to be happy and to progress toward a happy and...