Dear Mr. Henshaw

Beverly Clearly is a well know children's literature author and for good reason. Her books were some of my favorite growing up and are still popular among children. Dear Mr. Henshaw is no exception. This is a great story about a young boy trying to grow up through some adversity. His parents have gotten a divorce and his dad isn't around much because he is a truck driver. Leigh gets assigned a project in school to write to an author. Somehow the boy finds relief in writing to someone about so many things. In the beginning of the book the author sends questions back for Leigh to answer. He finds this very difficult and doesn't really care to answer them because no one had ever really cared or asked before. The author in the book also suggested that he keep a diary. So the entire book is Leigh's letters and diary. I really like the format of the book. It keeps things interesting and it is told from Leigh's perspective and in his words. It kind of leaves room for your imagination to take over. Also I feel like the emotions are more real. Instead of just saying "Leigh's mad" it would have the angry words he is thinking.
After our discussion in class I began thinking about the race and gender and social status of many of the characters I have been reading about. In this book the main character is male and white (according to the picture) but he lives with a single parent in a small home. His mom always says something about it being all the can afford. I like the fact that this book is addressing divorce and the reader can try to relate to the emotions and ups and downs that go along with a child experiencing it. The other thing we talked about was the dog. This character does have a dog. It just goes with is father on the long hauls to keep him company. I feel like it is symbolic of Leigh actually having a piece of himself with his dad at all times through the dog. I liked the transformation that Leigh went through in the book as well. I mean he misses his dad and will always miss him, but in the beginning all he wanted was for him to come home and for everything to be the same again. In the end he realizes that it willi never be the same and that it is better off this way.
Great book.