About this title: 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 ...
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Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
"Year Published: 1983 Awards: Christopher, Newbery Medal Age Level: 10-15
This book is about a child, Leigh Botts, who is living with his mother after his parents divorced. He is lonely and frustrated and so he starts to write letters to an author. He lets out all of his feelings not just about the book, but about things going on in his life. The author, Mr. Henshaw becomes a friend to Leigh and sometimes writes back. Through this constant writing, Leigh becomes better and better at writing and writes his own book."
"This book is about a boy, Leigh, who is writing to favorite author throughout the book. It begins with him second and ends with him in sixth grade. It started as a school assignment, but somehow along the way, the author, Mr. Henshaw became much more to Leigh. Leigh is an only child of divorced parents. His father, a trucker, is in the picture rarely and his mother is doing her best to keep up with everything. It is hard for him to cope with his father's absence, but he must learn to deal with it. He has troubles at school and looking for a resolution. A good portion of his letters to Mr. Henshaw and his diary entries are dedicated to talking about his father. He finds comfort in writing in his diary and his letters to Mr.Henshaw. It seems as if Mr. Henshaw is sense of reason. He, in his own way, helps Leigh learn to deal with his emotions and his situation with his parents and school. By the end of the story and all is said and done, Leigh has grown a great deal. The story is a Newberry Medalist winner and it is avery touching story. Many children are in single parent household and have similiar problems as Leigh.
Because there are so many children in single family households, this book would be a great addition to any library. Children of divorced parents tend to have a slew of emotions and it is important for them to be able properly deal with their emotions. Children will be able to identify with Leigh as he grows in the story."
"I have read this book 2 or 3 times but i will read it again. it is that good. great matter of fact/ 11.31.09 ________________________________________________________________ REVIEW: THis book when I read years ago was really an awesome book for me. I had so many connections to this book. I thought that this book was truly something special. I was currently in fifth grade ( my favorite school year out of all. Anyways, I read the book again and did more of a literacy analysis (something new I am trying). This book is so relaxing to read especially when you're listening to music on the radio. If I had to shelf this on goodreads, I would put it on the relaxing shelf ( its an actual shelf). Astonishingly, I made connections to this book once again but their weak in my opinion in comparision ( relative to) my fifth grade experience with this book. The book is about what this sixth grader goes through in sixth grade, in his home life, and his parents divorce. His mom is someone who I would describe as naive & caring. The mom describes the story of how she ended up marrying to Leigh's dad (now her ex). I can make a comparision to My mom because she also describes herself as naive because she was a country girl (like Leigh's mom). Leigh is a very emotional kid (unlike myself) but what we do share is our reflective quality. I do reflect in what I do and that is what I think helped him and makes me want to become a pyschologist because it helps people. Another thing we have in common is that we get inspiration from quiet,tranquil places or thoughts. That is how I write awesome essays (for example, the ones for ELA class which are the best in 803) and my poems.Leigh writes to his favorite author until he realizes that he doesnt need to do that anymore. HE could solve his own problems and learn by himself. The author didnt even like him that much. THe author basically said I dont care what you do kid as but thanks for reading my books. Anyway, I read the sequel too but in fifth grade. He was in 7th grade going on 8th then. I should read that again. Why? Because, he gets a new dog, writes, and he has a girlfriend (score). Overall, this book is excellent. Excellent read!160 pages of gold."
"A young boy named Leigh Botts writes letters to his favorite author Mr. Henshaw. He later starts a diary of his own because Mr. Henshaw tells him it's a good way to start writing because Leigh wants to be an author too. I was surprised this book was all letters. I thought the letters would be in the book but I didn't know the whole book was letters. It was interesting way to tell a story and it really did tell a good story. Children could write letters to someone, like the librarian or if they could, maybe to their favorite author too. They could also keep a diary during the school year. And like in the book, the classroom could write their own stories and compile it into one big book."
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