Dear Mr. Henshaw

Beverly Cleary

Oct 2009 · Sold by Harper Collins

About this ebook

Newbery Medal Winner * Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children * ALA Notable Children’s Book

Beverly Cleary’s timeless Newbery Medal-winning book explores difficult topics like divorce, insecurity, and bullying through the thoughts and emotions of a sixth-grade boy as he writes to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw.

After his parents separate, Leigh Botts moves to a new town with his mother. Struggling to make friends and deal with his anger toward his absent father, Leigh loses himself in a class assignment in which he must write to his favorite author. When Mr. Henshaw responds, the two form an unexpected friendship that will change Leigh’s life forever.

From the beloved author of the Henry Huggins, Ramona Quimby, and Ralph S. Mouse series comes an epistolary novel about how to navigate and heal from life’s growing pains.

Ratings and reviews

This book is amazing! I loved it so much. It is very well written and I love how beverly cleary wrote the life story of Leigh. Leigh went through struggles and made mistakes but it is a very good example of a childs lifestory. Because some peoples were similar to this and I just loved this story. I would recomend it for young readers starting with second grade and up. I am in fifth and it was easy for me but I loved it. I recomend it to people with loving heart and wants a sad but lovely story. I wrote this because I loved this book and I hope someone else with enjoy it just as much as I did!!

Grade: 3-5 (GR: Q – 4th grade) Rating: A- Comments: Book written in letter/diary format. About a young boy dealing with his parents his divorce and attending a new school. I enjoyed the character development and growth of Leigh over a four year period as evidenced in his personal writing. Unique approach to writing a book. Newbery Winner 1984.

This book is amazing such a big hit. READ THE REST OF THE SERIES AND YOU WILL BE AMAZED. My teacher encouraged me to read this book it is amazing. If you do not like this book, then I am shocked.

About the author

Beverly Cleary is one of America's most beloved authors. As a child, she struggled with reading and writing. But by third grade, after spending much time in her public library in Portland, Oregon, she found her skills had greatly improved. Before long, her school librarian was saying that she should write children's books when she grew up.Instead she became a librarian. When a young boy asked her, "Where are the books about kids like us?" she remembered her teacher's encouragement and was inspired to write the books she'd longed to read but couldn't find when she was younger. She based her funny stories on her own neighborhood experiences and the sort of children she knew. And so, the Klickitat Street gang was born!Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the American Library Association's Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, presented to her in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature. Dear Mr. Henshaw won the Newbery Medal, and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 and Ramona and Her Father have been named Newbery Honor Books. Her characters, including Beezus and Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ralph, the motorcycle-riding mouse, have delighted children for generations.

Paul O. Zelinsky is the illustrator of many acclaimed books for children. He is the illustrator of Kelly Bingham’s Z Is for Moose and Circle, Square, Moose, Jack Prelutsky’s Awful Ogre’s Awful Day, Emily Jenkins’s Toys Go Out, and Anne Isaac’s Dust Devil. He is also the creator of the now-classic interactive book The Wheels on the Bus. His retelling of Rapunzel was awarded the 1998 Caldecott Medal. Rumpelstiltskin, Hansel and Gretel, and Swamp Angel, with different authors, all garnered him a Caldecott Honor. Paul O. Zelinsky lives with his wife in Brooklyn, New York.