Other editions of book Dear Mr. Henshaw

Dear Mr. Henshaw,I wish somebody would stop stealing the good stuff out of my lunchbag. I guess I wish a lot of other things, too. I wish someday Dad and Bandit would pull up in front in the rig ... Dad would yell out of the cab, "Come on, Leigh. Hop in and I'll give you a lift to school."Leigh Botts has been author Boyd Henshaw's number one fan ever since he was in second grade. Now in sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is the new kid at school. He's lonely, troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious thief steals from his lunchbag. Then Leigh's teacher assigns a letter-writing project. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh's life.

Given the homework assignment of writing to a famous author, sixth-grader Leigh Botts writes to Boyd Henshaw, the author of his favorite book, WAYS TO AMUSE A DOG. Mr. Henshaw's reply includes some silly answers to Leigh's questions about a writer's life, but he also encloses a series of questions about Leigh that Leigh must answer and send back to him. At first Leigh is insulted by Mr. Henshaw's request, but at his mother's insistence, he takes the time to answer the questions--thus beginning an epistolary friendship with Mr. Henshaw. Slowly, Leigh's letters reveal the difficulties of his life, especially his parents' divorce and the fact that his self-absorbed trucker father seems to have forgotten all about him. By writing to Mr. Henshaw, and later by following Mr. Henshaw's advice to keep a journal, Leigh is able to overcome some of the difficulties in his life and also come to terms with some things that he can't change or control. Told entirely via Leigh's letters and journal entries, DEAR MR. HENSHAW is illustrated with occasional B&W drawings and was the winner of the 1984 Newbery Medal., 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.

Dear Mr. Henshaw,I wish somebody would stop stealing the good stuff out of my lunchbag. I guess I wish a lot of other things, too. I wish someday Dad and Bandit would pull up in front in the rig ... Dad would yell out of the cab, "Come on, Leigh. Hop in and I'll give you a lift to school."Leigh Botts has been author Boyd Henshaw's number one fan ever since he was in second grade. Now in sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is the new kid at school. He's lonely, troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious thief steals from his lunchbag. Then Leigh's teacher assigns a letter-writing project. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh's life.