In Henry and Beezus, Henry Huggins comes up with creative ways to earn money on his own to get the bike of his dreams. Instead of waiting for his parents to have enough spare cash to buy him a bike, Henry takes the initiative himself. Through Henry’s perseverance, Cleary explores the importance of resourcefulness and independence. 

Cleary depicts Henry as an unusually self-sufficient young boy. He often does things on his own without parental supervision or help. For example, he does chores and errands for his parents in his neighborhood, such as going to the store or buying food for his dog. He accepts that his parents cannot afford to buy him a new bike and decides to begin his own savings fund to solve the problem himself: “He would start a bicycle fund right away […] he’d get that bicycle yet” (19).

Henry’s strategic thinking is evident from the beginning of the story. While running an errand for his mom, he decides to check an empty lot for bottles that he can return for money. When he finds boxes of gum instead of bottles, he does not merely take it all home for himself but thinks of ways to generate a profit from it: “He would take some to school and see what the other boys and girls offered him.