Dear Mr. Henshaw

Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Harper Collins. Sixth grade student Leigh Botts has always admired author Boyd Henshaw. Now a new student at a new school, Leigh struggles to adjust to his new surroundings and his parents’ divorce. He misses his father greatly, but never gets to see him because he is a truck driver and Leigh must learn to deal with his disappointment and anger. Leigh starts writing to Mr. Henshaw and his life changes forever. The style of the story is unique and very well developed. Told predominately from Leigh’s point of view in a series of letters and diary entries to his favorite author, Mr. Henshaw, readers get an inside look at the pain and loneliness Leigh feels after his parents’ divorce. The tone of the story is an adequate balance between humorous and serious. The setting of the story is realistic. Readers can easily identify with Leigh’s mother as she struggles to work long hours and go to school. They don’t have very much money, so Leigh and his mom have to live in a very small and deteriorated house. Dear Mr. Henshaw can be used to teach a lesson on author study. Teachers can ask students to study an author of their choice and present their findings as an oral report, power point presentation, or a newspaper article.