Dear Mr. Henshaw

Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York, New York: Harpercollins Children's Books. 

In Dear Mr. Henshaw, Leigh Botts is struggling with a lot of personal problems. He begins to write to his favorite author. In time the letters become personal as Leigh tells him about the problems he is having. The letters turn into a journal where he can express himself and voice his feelings about his parents’ divorce, his absent father, and trying to come to terms with his life. . He realizes he is really is an author.

 

Evaluative Criteria: Gender and Culture; Character

We can see gender and culture in this book in regards to Leigh living in a single parent home. It has become the norm for children to come from broken homes and uninvolved parents. Readers can connect personally with the writer at that level. Character can be seen because the story is told from the perspective of Leigh as Leigh continues to write we can see growth not only in his writing but also in himself as a person. At the end he comes to terms with the way life is, not everybody can have a perfect life. We can also see character come into play when the letters begin to introduce us to other characters.