Author- Beverly ClearyTitle- Dear Mr.Henshaw
Illustrator- Paul O. Zelinsky
Year-1983
Genre- Newbery
Format- Paperback
Publisher- Scholastic Inc.
Reading Level- Intermediate Reading
Interest Level- Upper Elementary/Lower Middle
Topics- Letters, Diary, Writing, Author, Growing up
Summary- This story is about a boy named Leigh Botts. He starts off in the book as a second grade boy writing letters to an author named Mr.Henshaw. As the book goes on Leigh keeps writing to Mr.Henshaw through letters discussing how much he loves his book "Ways to Amuse a Dog". As Leigh keeps writing he realizes Mr. Henshaw is annoyed and follows his suggestion of starting a Diary. Throughout the book you read Leigh's journal entires and letters to Mr.Henshaw and follow his life through school. He is an everyday boy going through life dealing with his parents divorce, being practically abandoned by his father, and desperately wanting to become an author. In the end Leigh gets to actually meet a "real life author" because he won (be default) a writing contest. The author gives him hope and compliments and shows that Leigh is a great author. In the end Leigh has matured, he has followed his dream, and his life is slowly coming back together. It is a great uplifting story for any kid.
Extension Activity- Have all the kids write their own story and become an author just like Leigh. Another activity is to have all the kids write a letter to their favorite author.
