Dear Mr. Henshaw

In this endearing book, written entirely in letters and journal entries, we meet Leigh Botts, a sixth grader who is going through some big changes in his life. These upheavals are revealed in his letters to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author. Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw a couple of times when he is younger, but then in sixth grade he is given the assignment of writing to an author with a series of questions. Of course Leigh chooses Henshaw, but he is surprised with the response. Henshaw does reply, not quite meeting the school's deadline, but his answers are funny and mischievous, and he requires Leigh to answer the same questions that he sent to Henshaw. At first Leigh is irritated - why couldn't his author just answer his questions show more normally, like the other authors? - but he starts writing, because his mom insists. And as he answers the questions and sends more and more letters to Mr. Henshaw, we learn more about Leigh's life. Such as the fact that his parents have recently separated and are getting a divorce, he and his mom have moved to a new town and he is the new kid at school, and someone is stealing food out of his lunch bag.

As Leigh continues his correspondence, and then switches over to a journal (at the prompting of Mr. Henshaw, who we can infer from Leigh's letters is irritable with Leigh for always pestering him with letters, which made me annoyed with his character because Leigh is so clearly looking for a father figure and he is an amazing boy, and why the author doesn't appreciate that more I just can't understand), we see a young boy navigating the rough waters of heart break and loneliness, and proving that he is a smart and ingenious kid who can handle the challenges life throws at him. Leigh comes to accept his parent's divorce even though it continues to make him sad, he buys a new lunch box and devises an alarm to scare off his pesky lunch thief, and he makes a new friend. Leigh is an amazing kid, and I began to root for him from the first letter he wrote. The novel draws the reader in right away, considering the intimacy of the letter format, and it handles its delicate topics with a deft touch that makes them accessible to the intended young readers of the book. I read through this book quickly, enjoyed it a great deal, and only cried a little. It is heartfelt and fantastic, and well deserving of the Newbery award it won. show less

How I loved this book and I am so glad I read it after all this time. I first heard of the book in a movie and since it was about writers I knew this book had to be special to be mentioned by the movie characters. This oh-so-adorable story of a young school boy writing to a writer, Mr. Henshaw over the course of about five-six years is endearing and heart-warming. I wish I had such an opportunity to write to authors and get author replies to my fan mail. The little world described by Leigh to Henshaw is so real and replete with his childish innocence that I was taken aback a little when the book ended on a disruptive note. I did not think of that ending. Perhaps, I was hoping for little Leigh to finally be able to meet his favourite show more author. Maybe he will. We all can write our version of stories. I loved Beverly Cleary's simple writing and look forward to reading more of her works now. And, Leigh has just become my favourite new kid book characters. So long, Leigh Botts, your will to write rubs off a good influence on me. show less

I listened to this one as an audiobook; it was really, really well done. The narrator is Pedro Pascal and he was the perfect voice for the character Leigh Botts. The story itself is funny, and as Leigh continues to write his letters, a sad story unfolds about divorce and the desire to be wanted and loved.
I haven't laughed out loud during an audiobook in a long time - Leigh's letters were often times hilarious. I don't think I would have liked the story as much had I read it myself directly from the book. So, even if you have already read this one, give the audiobook a try.

April 1st: On a drive to Texas with my mother, I was listening to a fantasy audiobook and she just wasn't following, so I put this title on and listened to it again. show more She laughed often and her laugh is one of my favorite sounds in the world. Still recommend as a great listen! show less

Leigh Botts - that's a boy and it's pronounced the same as Lee - starts writing his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw. But what started as a school assignment then morphs into really asking for advice and finally writing in his own diary when sixth grade brings a lot of changes. Leigh's parents are divorced, and he's dealing with a new place, no friends, and a lunch thief.

I enjoyed so many of Beverly Cleary's books as a child - Ramona, Ralph the mouse, and Henry Huggins - but I never did get around to her standalone books. I like how she can get into the minds of her protagonist and really explain how things feel as a kid, the confusion and anger and sadness and yes, joy and happiness too that's a part of life and growing up. She does it show more again with Leigh, and it was a pleasure to see how everything turned out for him as he learns to write and turns to his journal to sort it all out. show less

Oh, Beverly Cleary! Say it ain’t so! A dysfunctional family! A main character with divorced parents. A dad who is late with his support payments and fails to call when he says he will. A single mom who is just barely able to pay the bills and doesn’t have a lot of time to spend with her son. Whew!Dear Mr. Henshaw is written as a series of letters from a boy, Leigh Botts, to his favorite author. The author encourages Leigh to keep a journal and slowly Leigh begins to do this. He comes to realize that many of his dreams will never come true; his father will never return home and his mother and father will never be reunited. He finds, however, that not all of his dreams are doomed. Leigh develops his skills as a writer and he and his show more father begin a relationship.Oh, but Beverly, how far from Klickitat Street have you gone! show less

While reading “Dear Mr. Henshaw”, I got so caught up in the story of Leigh’s life as it unfolded in letters that I forgot the book wasn’t really written by its main character, Leigh but by Beverly Cleary – she is just that talented. Beginning in second grade and continuing for the next four years, Leigh writes letters to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw. Some of the letters he mails others he doesn’t and these function as his diary. Leigh uses his correspondence with Mr. Henshaw as a way to work through family and school problems large and small.

In second grade, Leigh Botts reads a book How to Entertain Your Dog and writes to the author, Mr. Henderson, telling him how much he enjoyed the story. The next year, Leigh writes again talking more about the book, about his own dog Bandit and about how he would like to be an author and write stories just like How to Entertain Your Dog. In fourth grade, the teacher assigns the class to write to an author to do a report about an author. Leigh writes to Mr. Henderson again giving him a list of 1o questions so Leigh can use that as the basis of his report. Mr. Henderson does not write back in time for the report and, when he does, Mr. Henderson asks him 10 questions. Told initially as letters to Mr. Henderson, with comments in the letters show more of answers to previous letters, we get to know Leigh Botts, watch his reactions when his parents divorce. We watch as he works at first trying to write and as he builds his skills. An artful tale, Cleary uses an inventive voice to bring a delightful character to life. show less