"Something About Hensley's" By: Partricia Polacco

WOW! Something About Hensley's is a great book! It's about a general store owner, Mr. Soncrant. He owns the store Hensley's in the small town, Union City. It's not only that the store has everything you need, but the owner Old John Soncrant is the heart and soul of the store. One day he meets two girls, Kate and Molly. They are new in town, and Mr. Soncrant gives them a friendly welcome by giving them bags of candy. From then on the girls find Hensley's to be their regular hang out. They talk with Mr. Soncrant, and look at all the stuff in the store. He becomes friends with the girls, and comes to find out their mom is a single mother, and a college student. It isn't long before Mary, the girls' mom, becomes friends with Mr. Soncrant too. He helps them through their tough times, and even helps Mary start her own business, "All Fired Up!".
I loved this book because it has such a wonderful story. It's one of those books that just make you smile. Mr. Soncrant is a wonderful character who is makes everyone who read this book want to be a nice, friendly, giving, and whole hearted person. In addition to a beautiful story the illustrations in this book are fantastic! Every single page is filled with color. There are little boxes where the text is, but other than that the pages are filled with great illustrations. Even the end pages are illustrations. The end pages are illustrations of Mr. Soncrant helping other people in Union City. Patricia Polacco even illustrated herself on one of the end pages! I enjoyed reading this book so much, and I think that kids of all ages would enjoy this story!