Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary
As I previously mentioned, I have a reading list eighty-five titles long for one of my library science grad school classes. This is the one I decided to start with. If it hadn't been for the books of Beverly Cleary when I was young, I would not be the reader I am now. Actually, I had this book as a kid, but never read it. Probably would have gone my whole life without reading it, had it not been for this class.
Leigh Botts, a boy, begins writing to his favorite author in the second grade. This continues until he is most of the way through sixth grade. We learn of Leigh's frustrations over his parents' divorce, the kid stealing the good parts of his lunch, and the fact that his father doesn't keep his promises. It's rather depressing, but Leigh makes the best of it. He finds people that care about him, and finds redemption when another author refers to him as an author.
As an adult reading it, it gives keen insight on divorce from a kid's point of view. I feel like society never takes the view of the children into account, and Cleary brought that to the forefront in this book.
No comments:
Post a Comment