Dear Mr. Henshaw (1983)

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 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. ( )

This book is about a young boy named Leigh who begins writing to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, when he is very young up until he is in the sixth grade. During his sixth grade year things get very hard to him so, he navigates his way by writing to Mr. Henshaw through a journal. This book takes you on Leigh's journey to find himself and learn about the hard parts of life. The story is very meaningful, especially to middle grade students who could possibly relate to Leigh. This book would also be good to read in a classroom because it is easy to follow along to, and it could teach students to write casually, just like Leigh does throughout the book. ( )

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