Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

While I have been a huge fan of Beverly Cleary since childhood, I had never read Dear Mr. Henshaw. This summer I listened to the audiobook, so I guess I still cannot say that I've read it. However, I can say that I've enjoyed it!

The story's main character is a 6th grade boy named Leigh Botts.  In 2nd grade Leigh wrote a thank you letter to Mr. Henshaw, the author of his favorite book, for a class assignment. Now that he is in 6th grade, he writes to Mr. Henshaw again for another author-related class assignment. Thus begins a friendship between a lonely boy struggling to deal with his parents' divorce and a wise author. The entire book is written as a series of letters and journal/diary entries, a format which I love!

Dear Mr. Henshaw is a short but sweet and honest story that I recommend to boys or girls in the middle to upper elementary grades.

Mrs. N.