Throwback Thursday: Dear Mr. Henshaw

Throwback Thursday is a new feature at Reading Lark. We'll still be doing some Book Boyfriend Posts and Book BFF Posts on Thursdays as well, but the Larks wanted a little variety on Thursdays. Throwback Thursday will allow us to throwback to some of the reads we've loved -- whether it's a book reviewed last year, a book we hid under the covers to read as a teen, or a picture book from our childhood -- we hope you'll enjoy reliving the memories as much as we do!

Dear Mr. Henshaw

By: Beverly Cleary
Published: 1983 

 

I blame Beverly Cleary -- and this book -- for my unrealistic expectations of author interactions as a preteen. Evidence of these unrealistic expectations could be seen in by my 7th grade author project when I wrote, repeatedly, to Paul Zindel and he never replied (but other authors replie dto kids in my class and boy was I jealous of them!) scared me for life. ;) 
 
The story goes like this: Boy writes to famous, favorite author. Famous, favorite author writes back. A friendship begins that helps boy deal with his parents' divorce, moving to a new place, etc. Told in a series of letters, and later diary entries formatted as letters, Leigh and Mr. Henshaw form a bond that will change Leigh for the better. A great book and #60 on the National Education Association's "Top 100 Books for Children" list with good reason.

Summary via Goodreads

Beverly Cleary's Newbery Medal-winning book explores the thoughts and emotions of a sixth-grade boy, Leigh Botts, in letter form 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.