Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary is the 1984 Newbery winning epistolary novel starring Leigh Botts writing letters to his favorite author Mr. Henshaw. At first Leigh is young, just learning to read and write, then as he gets a bit older (6th grade) he writes Mr. Henshaw for a school assignment. After Leigh tries to get out of researching his favorite author by just asking Mr. Henshaw the questions in a letter, Mr. Henshaw teases him back by sending Leigh a big list of questions. This starts Leigh sharing about his new school and divorcing parents. There is a lot of humor and warmth as the book goes along, (as well as great illustrations by Paul O. Zelinsky) and Leigh comes to terms with his new life without much of his trucker dad in the picture.
What I liked. I loved how this book developed. The first few pages Leigh Botts is such a tiny 2nd grade boy boy barely able to write more than a sentence to his favorite author, and as the book develops, Leigh grows and his voice grows too, and the letters turn into diaries. Beverly Cleary also creates such a seamless transition from just Leigh’s thoughts to allowing him to receive and reflect on some profound insight into the heart of complicated human relationships.
What was interesting. What I thought was most interesting about this book was that Beverly Cleary was, by 1984, a fairly well known author (her first book, Henry Huggins, was published in 1955 and by 1984 her most famous characters and stars of series The Mouse and the Motorcycle and the Ramona books had already been written alongside quite a few other books.) So I imagine that she herself received a good amount of fan mail (and perhaps letters from children assigned to write to authors as part of a school assignment, like Leigh Botts did.) So I find it so clever of her to turn that particular experience into such a lovely book.
What were some limitations. I really cannot find much of a limitation here (I find myself saying that more often as I get farther into this Newbery project; by the 80s the authors and committee seem to be hitting their stride); I think the book really does what it sets out to do. I think in some ways, Leigh Botts really should have a friend his age. I find that my favorite books are those with strong friendships between children, but I think part of the point of this book is that Leigh doesn’t have a friend, and through his relationship with Mr. Henshaw and the kind school janitor, Mr Fridley, by the end he’s really ready to have a friend in his classmate Barry.
Similarity to other Newbery winners. It has a missing dog: Bandit (one of the more poignant bits of the story of Leigh and his father), who joins the list of beloved Newbery dogs: Prince Terrien (Bridge to Terabithia), Cafall (The Grey King), Sounder (Sounder), Nick (Adam of the Road), Ginger Pye (Ginger Pye), Ramo (Island of the Blue Dolphins), and Uri (Call it Courage).
What it teaches me as a writer. My favorite bit of the book was when Leigh visits the butterfly tree. I loved this image of a tree covered with butterflies that are (basically) hibernating before they wake up and start their migration. It’s a beautiful quiet spot for Leigh to think and come to terms with some things, and I definitely am going to have a butterfly tree in my book. Also Beverly Cleary is 103! I think she might be the first living Newbery award winner that I’ve written about. (Also here’s a little video that was made upon her 100th birthday.) I also have to mention, in closing, that this was a pretty strong Newbery to mark the year of my birth!
Have you read Dear Mr. Henshaw? What are your favorite epistolary books?
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