| "DEAR MR. HENSHAW"
Author: Beverly Cleary
Illustrator: Paul O. Zelinsky
Interest Level: Middle Grades (4-8)
ATOS Reading Level: 4.9
AR Points: 3.0
Publisher Recommended Age: 10+
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers
Book Type: Paperback
Pages: 160
Book Description:
In his letters to his favorite author, ten-year-old Leigh reveals his problems in coping with his parents' divorce, being the new boy in school, and generally finding his own place in the world.
Boyd Henshaw, a novelist, does not actually appear in the book. The story is actually about Leigh Botts, a young boy who lives with his divorced mother and misses his father. The beginning of the book is a collection of letters written from Leigh to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author. The letters show increasing emotional and literary complexity as Leigh grows. They also reflect his desire to become a writer.
As the book progresses, the format changes from letters to diary entries. Although we never see Mr. Henshaw's reply, Mr. Henshaw apparently answers at least one of Leigh's letters and suggests that a would-be writer should write in a diary every day. At first Leigh's diary entries take the form of unsent additional letters to Mr. Henshaw, even beginning with the salutation, "Dear Mr. Pretend Henshaw."
But as he matures, Leigh eventually decides that he does not need to do this and begins keeping his diary only for himself. The story begins with the main character in the second grade but he progresses to sixth grade in less than 10 pages.
The diary reveals Leigh's loneliness at school, details his troubles with an unknown schoolmate who secretly steals his lunch in the mornings, and most of all addresses his sorrow about his parents' divorce and his father's absence.
Book Reviews:
School Library Journal: "Cleary succeeds again. Her sense of humor leavens and lightens."
New York Times: "A first-rate poignant story…. A lovely, well-crafted, three-dimensional work.”
Book Awards:
USA: Newbery 1984
USA: ALA, Notable Children's Book
USA: Christopher Award
USA: Horn Book Fanfare
USA: Hawaii - Nene Award
USA: New Jersey - Garden State Children's Book Award
USA: Oklahoma - Sequoyah Children's Book Award
USA: Vermont - Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award
About the Author:
Beverly Cleary was born in McMinnville, Oregon, and, until she was old enough to attend school, lived on a farm in Yamhill, a town so small it had no library. Her mother arranged with the State Library to have books sent to Yamhill and acted as librarian in a lodge room upstairs over a bank. There Mrs. Cleary learned to love books.
When the family moved to Portland, where Mrs. Cleary attended grammar school and high school, she soon found herself in the low reading circle, an experience that has given her sympathy for the problems of struggling readers. By the third grade she had conquered reading and spent much of her childhood either with books or on her way to and from the public library.
Before long her school librarian was suggesting that she should write for boys and girls when she grew up. The idea appealed to her, and she decided that someday she would write the books she longed to read but was unable to find on the library shelves, funny stories about her neighborhood and the sort of children she knew.
After graduation from junior college in Ontario, California, and the University of California at Berkeley, Mrs. Cleary entered the School of Librarianship at the University of Washington, Seattle. There she specialized in library work with children. She was Children's Librarian in Yakima, Washington, until she married Clarence Cleary and moved to California. The Clearys are the parents of twins, now grown.
Mrs. Cleary's hobbies are travel and needlework. Mrs. Cleary's books have earned her many prestigious awards, including the 1984 John Newbery Medal for Dear Mr. Henshaw, for the most distinguished contribution to American literature for children in 1983. Her Ramona and Her Father and Ramona Quimby, Age 8 were named 1978 and 1982 Newbery Honor Books, respectively.
Among Mrs. Cleary's other awards are the American Library Association's 1975 Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, the Catholic Library Association's 1980 Regina Medal, and the University of Southern Mississippi's 1982 Silver Medallion, all presented in recognition of her lasting contribution to children's literature.
In addition, Mrs. Cleary was the 1984 United States author nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award, a prestigious international award. Equally important are the more than 35 statewide awards Mrs. Cleary's books have received based on the direct votes of her young readers. The Beverly Cleary Sculpture Garden for Children featuring bronze statues of Ramona Quimby, Henry Huggins, and Ribsy, was recently opened in Portland, Oregon.
This witty and warm author is truly an international favorite. Mrs. Cleary's books appear in over twenty countries in fourteen languages and her characters, including Henry Huggins, Ellen Tebbits, Otis Spofford, and Beezus and Ramona Quimby, as well as Ribsy, Socks, and Ralph S. Mouse, have delighted children for generations.
There have been Japanese, Spanish, and Swedish television programs based on the Henry Huggins series. PBS-TV aired a ten-part series based on the Ramona stories. One-hour adaptations of the three Ralph S. Mouse books have been shown on ABC-TV. All of Mrs. Cleary's adaptations still can be seen on cable television, and the Ramona adaptations are available in video stores. |
