Dear Mr. Henshaw

Leigh Botts writes letters to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. Following Mr. Henshaw's recommendation, he starts to keep a diary. Through his letters and diary entries, a picture emerges of a growing boy trying to adjust to new situations, particularly to his parents' divorce. ***Dear Mr. Henshaw*** is a juvenile epistolary novel by Beverly Cleary and illustrator Paul O. Zelinsky that was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".