Genre: Newbery
Author: Beverly Cleary
Awards: Newbery (1984)
Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award (1985)
Age Group: 9 to 11-year-olds
Teacher Evaluation: This book is an easy-to-read, written as letters and diary entries story. I think it could be part of the classroom library or in a recommended book list for the class. The book covers the topic of divorce which although may not be the happiest of topics, could be relatable to many students. As a teacher I see this book fitting upper elementary classrooms such as fourth and fifth grade.
Summary: This book is about a boy named Leigh Botts. Leigh's parents are divorce and he lives in a small house with his mother. Leigh's father is a truck driver and rarely sees or calls Leigh. The book begins with a letter Leigh has written to his favorite author. Leigh writes his favorite author Mr. Henshaw for an author project for his class. Mr. Henshaw responds to Leigh a little later than when Leigh needed the response and he also asked Leigh a variety of questions. Leigh becomes annoyed that Mr. Henshaw gave him questions to answer and even more annoyed when his mother makes him answer them. Although Leigh gets upset with Mr. Henshaw, Mr. Henshaw does not get upset with Leigh he even recommends that Leigh keep a diary since he wants to become an author. The remainder of the story is primarily told through Leigh's diary. Leigh's journal details his struggles at school with someone stealing parts of his lunch, finding an idea for a writing competition and at home waiting for his dad to call or reach out to him. The story ends with Leigh's dad coming to visit, while Leigh's dad is there Leigh fills him in on how he made an alarm so no one would steal his lunch and what he wrote for the writing competition that got printed. The book ends after Leigh's dad asks Leigh's mom if she wants to get back together and she responds no, so he leaves promising to see and call Leigh more.
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