Dear Mr. Henshaw

Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Morrow.

Leigh Botts is a young boy who lives with his mom, dad, and dog Bandit. One day he is assigned to write to an author as a class assignment, so he chose Mr. Henshaw, because he likes the book he wrote called Ways To Amuse A Dog. When the author responds, Leigh decides to keep writing to him, and continually writes to Mr. Henshaw for various assignments through our the years. One day Mr. and Mrs. Botts get a divorce, and Leigh has to move to a new school and town with his mom. He even starts a diary, because Mr. Henshaw suggested this was a good way to improve his writing skills. Leigh did not know how to start, but remembers the advice the author had given him. He decided to address his daily diary entries to Mr. Pretend Henshaw, because he does not like the way dear diary sounds. Eventually Leigh learns to write for himeself, and no longer has to address the letters to the author. He comes to terms with his parents divorce, and learns how to face his problem with his missing lunch at school. Along the way he make a friend, accepts his new life, and encourages his dad to keep Bandit so they can keep each other company on the road. Although this book was published in 1983, Dear Mr. Henshaw  is still a teachers favorite. It is a good Juvenil book, that lends itself to a variety of activities. Teachers can encourage students to start their own journals while reading the book, and even write creative stories like the one that Leigh wrote about A Day On Dad's Rig. Since Leigh's dad is a truck driver, teachers can include map skills during the reading. Students can locate and pinpoint the various cities Leigh talks about on a classroom map.