“His hair looked like a scrubbing brush.”

The author uses a simile to compare Henry’s hair to a bristly brush. At the time Beverly Cleary wrote the book, short haircuts called “buzz cuts” were popular among young men. The shorn head would feel coarse rather than soft. 

“‘Just one bite,’ the dog’s brown eyes seemed to say.”

Anthropomorphism is giving an animal or something inanimate human-like qualities. From the first introduction of Ribsy, the author gives him human traits. Ribsy coaxes Henry to share his ice cream cone with a longing gaze much like a human child might beg for a treat. 

“Thump, thump, thump.”

Onomatopoeia is a literary device where the word describes a sound. Ribsy’s tail makes a distinctive sound and becomes one of his signature traits. His thumping tail will later become a problem.