Dear Mr. Henshaw,
My teach read your book about the dog to our class. It was funny. We licked it.

Your friend,
Leigh Botts (boy)

First there was Henry Huggins...then Bezus and Ramona...now Beverly Cleary introduces a spunky new character named Leigh Botts, age ten.

Leigh has been Boyd Henshaw's Number One fan ever since his second grade teacher read aloud Ways to Amuse a Dog. Now in the sixth grade, Leigh lives with his mother and is "the new kid" in school. Troubled by the absence of his father, a cross-country trucker, and angry because a mysterious lunchbag thief steals all the "good stuff" from his lunch, Leigh feels his only friend is Mr. Fridley, the school custodian. Then Leigh's teacher assigns a project that requires writing letters asking questions of authors. Naturally Leigh chooses to write to Mr. Henshaw, whose surprising answer changes Leigh's life.

Told through a series of letters to Leigh's favorite author, and later through Leigh's diary, this is a wise and funny book about finding one's own place in the world. Written with Beverly Cleary's unique blend of humor and compassion, Dear Mr. Henshaw will soon take its place beside the author's other beloved classics.
(front flap)