DEAR MR. HENSHAW by Beverly Cleary (1983)

Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky. William Morrow and Company; 134 pages; drama; ages 8-13; ISBN: 0-688-02405-X.

Beverly Cleary's warmhearted tale is an example of an epistolary novel, one told through letters written by a character or characters in the story itself. In Dear Mr. Henshaw the letters are written by a boy named Leigh Botts, who becomes our narrator as he communicates with his favorite children's author starting in second grade, though a steady correspondence between the two doesn't really take hold until Leigh enters sixth grade, in a new town with no friends and parents who have divorced. Leigh answers questions sent to him by Mr. Henshaw, though not always with a smile on his face, and starts a diary at the encouragement of the author.

I love the epistolary-novel format, and wish it were used more often in children's books as an example of the different ways in which stories can be told and reveal character without explaining every single detail to the reader, such as the way in which Leigh's writing improves over the course of the narrative, validating Mr. Henshaw's encouragement. Unlike her Henry Huggins and Ramona & Beezus stories, there isn't any comical mischief in Dear Mr. Henshaw unless you count Leigh trying to find out who keeps stealing from his lunch bag at school. Similar to the female protagonist  in Judy Blume's It's Not the End of the World (1972), Leigh must accept the fact that his parents aren't going to get back together, a sober reality Cleary presents with sensitivity and grace.

Winner of the 1984 Newbery Medal. For another example of an epistolary novel, check out Regarding the Fountain by Kate Klise (1998).