Dear Mr. Henshaw

 Cleary, B. (1983).  Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York. Scholastic.

Leigh has been assigned to write to an author. He chooses Mr. Henshaw, the author of his favorite book Ways to Amuse a Dog. In the letter he asks a lot of questions. Mr. Henshaw replies with a list of questions of his own. What results is an unusual pen pal relationship between Leigh and Mr. Henshaw. We learn about Leigh's relationship with his father, his parents' divorce, and his struggles at school. By writing to Mr. Henshaw in letters and in journal form, Leigh comes to understand that he can be a writer and that he is stronger than he thinks.

I'll be honest; I've never been a fan of this book. I know it won the Newberry and it is by one of the best children's authors ever, but I have just never gotten into it. I know teachers who love to teach this book, but even though it is on the fourth grade list, I don't teach it. Perhaps by allowing my own opinion of the book to cloud my judgement, I'm not getting this book in the hands of children who might connect with it. How does that work as a librarian? We can't be expected to love every book, so how do we keep that open mind and promote something that we don't care for? Are we honest that we didn't like the book, but they might? Do we keep our opinions to ourselves? Hmmmm... something for me to ponder.