Module 7(B) - Does My Head Look Big in This?

Book
Does My Head Look Big in This?
Written by Randa Abdel-Fattah

Citation
Abdel-Fattah, R. (2007). Does my head look big in this? New York: Orchard Books.

Summary
Amal, a teenager who decides to wear the hijab to announce her religious intentions, tell her story of finding the courage to be herself among the friends and enemies, families and strangers that pepper her life. Amid the developing friendship of a young man named Adam who may or may not have a crush on Amal and amongst the many discussions of what to eat and who likes whom, Amal chooses to maintain her religious convictions by wearing the traditional Muslim headdress to show her commitment to her God. Teenagers from all walks of life, who participate in any cultural activities will relate to this realistic fiction novel that accurately portrays the trials and challenges that every teenager trudges through.

Reviews
Horn Book (July/August 2007): At the start of a new term, eleventh-grader Amal makes the big decision to wear the hijab, the Muslim head scarf, full-time. This first novel follows "Australian-Muslim-Palestinian" Amal as she debates the pros and cons of wearing the hijab, providing numerous teaching moments about Muslim culture and identity. Amal is proud to wear the symbol of her faith, yet she knows she faces ridicule from the popular set at wealthy McCleans Preparatory School. She is supported by her two best friends from her old Islamic school, as well as her new friends at McCleans, and their discussions explore different practices of Islam while dutifully dismantling stereotypes and presumptions. The girls' conversations and IMs are peppered with references to fashion, music, and pop culture lest the reader miss that Amal is a typical teenager in many ways. Amal's complex navigation of her first big crush is conveyed with a lighter hand. Adhering to her principles on no physical relationships before marriage, she flirts with Adam, not realizing she may be leading him on until he tries to kiss her. Though the lengthy analyses on everything from female body image to Palestinian food give the book more message than momentum, the girls' thoughts and dreams are authentically adolescent, providing a bridge between cultures -- as the author clearly intends.

School Library Journal (June 1, 2007): Gr 7 Up-Australian 11th-grader Amal is smart, funny, outspoken, a good student, and a loyal friend. She is also a devout Muslim who decides to wear the hijab, or head covering, full-time. The story tells of her emotional and spiritual journey as she copes with a mad crush on a boy, befriends an elderly Greek neighbor, and tries to help a friend who aspires to be a lawyer but whose well-intentioned mother is trying to force her to leave school and get married. Amal is also battling the misconceptions of non-Muslims about her religion and culture. While the novel deals with a number of serious issues, it is extremely funny and entertaining, and never preachy or forced. The details of Amal's family and social life are spot-on, and the book is wonderful at showing the diversity within Muslim communities and in explaining why so many women choose to wear the hijab. Amal is an appealing and believable character. She trades verbal jibes with another girl, she is impetuous and even arrogant at times, and she makes some serious errors of judgment. And by the end of the story, she and readers come to realize that "Putting on the hijab isn't the end of the journey. It's just the beginning of it."

Suggested Use
Students are expected to keep a journal for a specified length of time - three weeks, at least - of the struggles and trials they come up against day in and day out. The idea being that a culminating activity - perhaps a painted mural or other artistic expression - would help each student see that teenagers experience similar feelings and emotions as other teenagers, no matter the religious, racial, or economic background.

Impression
I wasn't sure I was going to like this book - I wasn't sure I would be able to relate to it. The dialog and flow of typical teenage events kept the book moving and helped me completely identify with the main character's struggles with fitting in. I think this book would make a wonderful read-aloud for high school students. The discussions that would follow, I imagine, would be lively and interesting.

Module 7(A) - Out of My Mind

Book
Out of My Mind
Written by Sharon M. Draper

Citation
Draper, S.M. (2010). Out of my mind. New York: Atheneum Books for Young Readers.

Summary
Melanie is stuck. Suffering from cerebral palsy, Melanie's body doesn't do what her mind wants it to do. And so, she is stuck. No words. No thoughts. No ideas. No emotions. Her outside doesn't match her inside. Out of My Mind is the story of what happens on the inside, despite what is happening on the outside of a young girl whose daily challenge is dealing with the affects of cerebral palsy. Melanie's wit and humor draw the reader in immediately, endearing her to us forever. We fight and rally for her as she learns to use a Medi-Talker to help her communicate with those who have always thought of her as a retard. We are appalled with prejudices and injustice strikes. This book acts as an introduction on how to get to know a person on the inside, no matter what they look like on the outside.

Reviews
Booklist Starred (January 1, 2010): Grades 5-8. Fifth-grader Melody has cerebral palsy, a condition that affects her body but not her mind. Although she is unable to walk, talk, or feed or care for herself, she can read, think, and feel. A brilliant person is trapped inside her body, determined to make her mark in the world in spite of her physical limitations. Draper knows of what she writes; her daughter, Wendy, has cerebral palsy, too. And although Melody is not Wendy, the authenticity of the story is obvious. Told in Melody’s voice, this highly readable, compelling novel quickly establishes her determination and intelligence and the almost insurmountable challenges she faces. It also reveals her parents’ and caretakers’ courage in insisting that Melody be treated as the smart, perceptive child she is, and their perceptiveness in understanding how to help her, encourage her, and discourage self-pity from others. Thoughtless teachers, cruel classmates, Melody’s unattractive clothes (“Mom seemed to be choosing them by how easy they’d be to get on me”), and bathroom issues threaten her spirit, yet the brave Melody shines through. Uplifting and upsetting, this is a book that defies age categorization, an easy enough read for upper-elementary students yet also a story that will enlighten and resonate with teens and adults. Similar to yet the antithesis of Terry Trueman’s Stuck in Neutral (2000), this moving novel will make activists of us all.

Library Media Connection (May/June 2010): Melody, an 11-year-old girl with cerebral palsy, who cannot speak or walk, tells the story of her daily struggles. While Melody cannot express herself through words, those around her realize that she understands more than she has been given credit for. Melody?s mother enrolls her at their neighborhood elementary school where she is placed in a classroom for physically and mentally challenged students. The teacher decides that her students are going to be included in ?regular? classroom activities, and Melody is given a computer, which allows her to express herself by speaking for her. She is able to join a group of students who participate in a national quiz bowl. Once everyone realizes that Melody has far more talent than many of the ?regular? students, they question their treatment of others. This title is a wonderful way to remind students that everybody is different, but they can excel in various ways. It would be a reassuring choice for a child who has a special needs family member. Students who are generally interested in those who are different would enjoy it too. Recommended.

Suggested Use
This book could be used as a springboard for a humanities class. Because the main character has no other means of communications beside the Medi-Talker that comes mid-way through the book, students, after reading multiple chapters could create and establish another way for someone with speaking disabilities to communicate. Or, to make the project broader, allow students to create and invent something that would aid another student with a disability.

Impression
I read this book to my fourth graders as part of our Bluebonnet Book Club as Out of My Mind was nominated as a Texas Bluebonnet Award nominee. The concepts were high-level, demanding a certain level of maturity to deal with what was written about. I was amazed at how quickly Melanie was endeared to them. They, almost immediately, began to think of ways for Melanie to better include herself with her peers. The thinking process exploded as they tried to understand and visualize what it would be like to be perfectly capable in mind but have a body that wouldn't cooperate. And, the emotions that flooded when the quiz team lacked compassion and understanding toward their most valuable team member was astounding. I loved this book and loved what discussion came out of reading aloud to a group of fourth graders.

Module 6 - Dear Mrs.LaRue: Letters from Obedience School

Book
Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School
Written and illustrated by Mark Teague

Citation
Teague, M. (2002). Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letter from obedience school. New York: Scholastic, Inc.

Summary
Dear Mrs. LaRue is the tale of Ike, the dog, and his terrible time at obedience school. Ike's perspective on the events that landed him at obedience school and that happen while in obedience school are depicted in illustration form with sharp contrast showing through his letters home to his owner. Upon his escape from obedience school, things get a bit harrier, ending in a well-staged rescue!

Reviews
Kirkus Review (August 1, 2002): An epistolary picture book detailing the misadventures of a very imaginative dog at obedience school. Ike the terrier is a reluctant student at the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy, and sends daily letters home describing the tortures he's undergoing at school: "Needless to say, I am being horribly mistreated. You say I should be patient and accept that I'll be here through the term. Are you aware that the term lasts TWO MONTHS? Do you know how long that is in dog years?" In a series of inspired double-page spreads, the bright acrylic illustrations depict Ike scrivening away in the plushest possible surroundings, while he imagines (appropriately enough in black-and-white) what he describes. As Ike complains about the food, the reader sees him seated at a table covered in a white tablecloth and decorated with roses; his fevered imagination, however, conjures up a vision of a burly, tattooed cook standing over a cauldron and pointing at a sign that says "No howling, biting, scratching, growling, slobbering, or barking, and no seconds!" as Ike, prison-stripe-clad, forlornly holds up his dog dish. The concept is fun, but it's a one-note joke that depends on a highly developed sense of irony to appreciate. Teague's first offering as author/illustrator since One Halloween Night (1999) demonstrates a mastery of illustration without an accompanying command of textual narration; the overlong text bogs down as the reader attempts to figure out what's really going on: does Ike really want to go back home? does he really believe what he describes? is he simply trying to make Mrs. LaRue feel guilty? The work as a whole is energetic but ultimately fails to follow through on a promising concept. (Picture book. 6-9)

Publisher's Weekly (July 22, 2002): A dog's life is hardly to be envied if one believes the words of Ike, a rambunctious pooch sentenced to obedience school by his exasperated owner, Mrs. LaRue. Having repeatedly terrorized the neighbors' cats and snatched one snack too many from the kitchen counter, Ike finds himself enrolled at Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy. The hero begins a clever letter-writing campaign to Mrs. LaRue that paints a grim (and hopefully guilt-inducing) picture of his Brotweiler experience. But readers are privy to the hilarious truth. Teague (How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night?) depicts the pampered pup at the spa-like academy in brightly colored vignettes, juxtaposed with black-and-white prison-like scenes that illustrate Ike's imagined hardship. He composes his correspondence with dramatic flair, whether describing his "inmate" experience ("The guards here are all caught up in this `good dog, bad dog' thing") or reflecting on his misdeeds back at home ("Were the neighbors really complaining about my howling?... Let's recall that these are the same neighbors who are constantly waking me up in the middle of the afternoon with their loud vacuuming").Throughout, the devilish laughs are in the details (waiters in white coats serving academy dogs gourmet meals and frozen drinks; Ike's images of a hard life in striped prison garb plus ball-and-chain). Even the duo's reunion (to much fanfare) plays off of an earlier joke. All in all, a tail-wagger of a book that will have readers howling with amusement. Ages 5-8

Suggested Use
This book is perfect for teaching writing students the art of voice and perspective. Because of the irony in Ike's letters and what the illustrations depict is actually happening at obedience school, teachers can show students how writing with irony and voice can make their own stories that much more appealing and readable.


Impression
Who doesn't love a good story full of odd perspective and hilarious irony? I think the black and white illustrations of Ike's perspective in contrast to the full-color illustrations of what is seemingly really happening make this book a winner. I was, to be honest, a bit disappointed in the ending, as it seemed to end abruptly. I would have appreciated more of conflict resolution between the neighbor's cats and their complaints of Ike's howling in addition to the ending mentioned in the book.

Module 5(B) - Jellicoe Road

Book
Jellicoe Road
Written by Melina Marchetta

Citation
Marchetta, M. (2006). Jellicoe Road. New York: HarperCollins Children's Books.

Summary
Jellicoe Road is a mystery from the start, allowing readers tidbits of information little by little. Its main character, Taylor, knows very little about her parents and her guardian, for that matter. Taking place on the grounds of a private school, Jellicoe Road tells the story of how Taylor finds the missing pieces to the puzzle of who her family is, where her mother is, and what her dreams mean. Intertwined throughout the book are tidbits of Hannah's story - Hannah being Taylor's guardian - that add intrigue and suspicion to an already broken tale. Characters come in and out, never what they seem, helping the reader gather clues and triggering the mind, tricking it into thinking it has the story in the right order, only to find out it isn't at all as it seems.

Reviews
School Library Journal (December 1, 2008): Gr 8 Up-For years, three factions-Townies, Cadets (city kids doing a six-week outdoor education program), and Jellicoe School students-have engaged in teen war games in the Australian countryside, defending territorial borders, negotiating for assets, and even taking hostages. Taylor Markham, a 17-year-old who was abandoned years ago by her mother, takes on leadership of the boarding school's six Houses. Plagued with doubts about being boss, she's not sure she can handle her Cadet counterpart, Jonah Griggs, whom she met several years before while running away to find her mother. When Hannah, a sort of house mother who has taken Taylor under her wing, disappears, Taylor puzzles over the book manuscript the woman left behind. Hannah's tale involves a tragic car accident on the Jellicoe Road more than 20 years earlier. Only three children survived, and Taylor discovers that this trio, plus a Cadet and a Townie, developed an epic friendship that was the foundation of the many mysteries in her life and identity, as well as of the war games. While the novel might put off casual readers, patient, thoughtful teens will remain to extract clues from the interwoven scraps of Hannah's narrative, just as Taylor does, all the while seeing the collapse of the barriers erected among the three groups over the years. Elegiac passages and a complex structure create a somewhat dense, melancholic narrative with elements of romance, mystery, and realistic fiction

Horn Book (November, December 2008): Two tragic stories -- one past, one present -- come together in this carefully constructed novel set in the Australian bush. Seventeen-year-old Taylor Markham has just been made leader of the Jellicoe School's "Underground" during the annual territory wars with the townies and the cadets. Taylor arrived at the school at age eleven when her mother dumped her at the local 7-11 and she was taken in by Hannah, voluntary caretaker of the school's neediest students. Interspersed with war maneuvers, negotiations, and Taylor's hotly charged meetings with cadet leader Jonah Griggs are excerpts from Hannah's unfinished novel about three teenaged survivors of a horrific car wreck on Jellicoe Road years earlier. The three survivors, and the lifelong bonds they formed with the townie who rescued them and the cadet who befriended them, have everything to do with Taylor; together with broken memories of life with her drug-addicted mother and dream visits from a mysterious boy, Hannah's story helps Taylor piece together the truth about her past and determine who she will become. Despite grief piled on grief in the personal histories of the characters, they are all firmly bound by friendship and love. Suspenseful plotting, slowly unraveling mysteries, and generations of romance shape the absorbing novel.

Suggested Use
Because of the interwoven story pieces from Hannah's manuscript, this book would be ideal in teaching high school students the use of multi-story writing. The plot is full of twists and turns making a sequenced story map a positive culminating activity. Discussions involving this book could help students identify that most things in life aren't black and white; exactly as they seem. This book might also be a good resource for a counselor who is facilitating a small group on grief.

Impression
I had to double-dip with this book - I continually had to go back and reread to make sure I understood. The pieces of the puzzle didn't always completely fit, to be honest. The story, itself, was engaging enough to keep me interested, but the details depicted didn't always help bring the story (or newfound information) to life for me. The story was deep and emotion-stirring, and, in the end, I think I liked it. It isn't a book would recommend, however.

Module 5(A) - We Are the Ship

Book
We are the Ship: The Story of Negro League Baseball
Words and paintings by Kadir Nelson

Citation
Nelson, K. (2008). We are the ship. New York: Hyperion Books for Children.

Summary
Kadir Nelson takes the reader on a history lesson, tripping through time, back when baseball was king - a black king, at that. Nelson's conversation-style writing and breathtaking artwork allows the reader a glimpse into one of the most profitable venues for the African American community and the most powerfully-missed opportunity because of racial stupidity for the white man running major league baseball back in the day. Readers are introduced to big house players such as "Cool Papa" Bell and "Turkey" Stearnes and painted a picture of what it was like to play in the negro leagues. Nelson highlights the timeline to integration, climaxing with Jackie Robinson breaking through the color barrier in 1945 by signing with the Brooklyn Dodgers. Thanks to the eye-catching illustrations and personal interest of the events, this book is an All-Star for children.

Reviews
Horn Book (May/June 2008): Imagine listening to baseball legends Willie Mays and Ernie Banks swapping stories about their Negro League days as they sit in the stands, munching on peanuts and watching Ken Griffey Jr. launch a curve ball into the stratosphere. That kind of easygoing, conversational storytelling is exactly what Kadir Nelson achieves in this pitch-perfect history of Negro League baseball. "Seems like we've been playing baseball for a mighty long time. At least as long as we've been free," the narrator says. Nelson's collective "we" honors "the voice of every player," as he explains in an author's note, and it also works to draw readers into and through the text's nine "innings." Nelson's extensive research (including interviews with former players) yields loads of attention-grabbing details: how much money players made; where, when, and how often games took place; who the standout owners, managers, and players were; and so on. And not surprisingly, he often returns to the impact of racism on the leagues, teams, and individual athletes. His grand slam, though, is the art: Nelson's oil paintings have a steely dignity, and his from-the-ground perspectives make the players look larger than life. The book also includes a foreword by Hank Aaron, an Extra Innings section identifying Hall-of-Fame Negro Leaguers, a bibliography, endnotes, and an index.

Library Media Connection (February 2008): Through text and artwork that pulses with life, Nelson has created a book that brings personality to the Negro Baseball League. Using the voice of "Everyman" in the league, this book will attract readers because of the full and double-page vibrant, realistic oil paintings, and immerse the reader in the compelling story being told. The author brings out interesting details about the league such as bus trips where players would relieve a sleepy driver and players would entertain their teammates. The reader meets famous players, like Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson, and the equally talented lesser known players. One enters the world of joy in the game of baseball and the hurt of segregation through stories that take place away from the ballpark as well as on the field. One need not be a baseball fan to enjoy this book, because it's more than a sports story. It's a story of real people enduring more than many of us can imagine, playing a game they love. The book's title comes from "We are the ship; all else is the sea" a quote from Rube Foster, the founder of the Negro National League. Highly Recommended.

Suggested Use
Teachers can use the inning sections, as Kadir Nelson did, to illustrate a timeline writing. Using We are the Ship as scaffolding, students can take a major event in history, for instance, the Holocaust, and break it into nine "innings" or sections for writing. Using a timeline and these sections, students will write about the major points of the event, research-style. The finish writing piece will be in chronological order and readable sections.

Impression
Having a personal interest in the Negro Baseball Leagues for some years now, I was particularly taken with Mr. Nelson's artwork throughout this book. They helped capture the determination and perseverance of an entire league of overlooked athletes. I appreciated Mr. Nelson's choice in writing style, that of conversation style, which helped make the book come alive and more real than an essay-type book. Using specific "innings" of this book seems the best choice for using it within the library. I can imagine many of my young athlete-students enjoying the tale and illustrations that is within.

Module 4(B) - Maniac Magee

Book
Maniac Magee
Written by Jerry Spinelli

Citation
Spinelli, J. (1990). Maniac Magee. New York: HarperCollins.

Summary
Jeffrey Lionel Magee doesn't grow up in a normal house, under normal circumstances, experiencing normal childhood situations. Orphaned as a small child, Jeffrey chose to escape the love-less home of his aunt and uncle by running away. Learning early on that fear of much of anything eluded him. He exhibited extraordinary talent in physical feats as well as seeing people for who they are and loving the unlovable, despite his own lack-of-love-upbringing. Because of his abilities, Jeffrey earns the nickname "Maniac" and moves forward in his quest to find love and goodness and a home of his own. We meet characters that are drawn to Maniac for good reasons and bad; that mold and shape him into a caring and thoughtful young man who seems colors as beautiful and not a reason to hate. Maniac Magee finds the home he's been looking for in the most unusual places, amid the most unlikely brood of characters, despite the most off-putting social stereotypes.


Reviews
Kirkus Review (1990): An occasionally long-winded, but always affecting, parable-like story about racism and ignorance. Jeffrey Magee is twice homeless--once involuntarily, at age three, when his parents plunge with a high-speed trolley off a bridge; the second time eight years later, when he voluntarily leaves the troubled home of his aunt and uncle. Jeffrey's subsequent yearlong flight generates a host of legends:, his sudden appearances and astonishing athletic prowess earn him the name "Maniac," and his just-as-sudden disappearances ensure his fame. Innocently, he crosses between two strictly segregated parts of town, the white East End and the black West End, making friends and enemies in both camps and managing to soften the lines of segregation; later, he finds a new home in the West. If this is sometimes a bit like a chalkboard lesson, it may be because racism is still a volatile subject that is more comfortably dealt with in parable form. The metaphorical style is a brave change from the realism of Spinelli's other books, while fans of his earlier, tongue-in-cheek, streetwise tone will find it also an integral part of this story--ballast for the mythic, shifting picture of Maniac's year on the run.

School Library Journal (June 1990): Gr 6-10-- Warning: this interesting book is a mythical story about racism. It should not be read as reality. Legend springs up about Jeffrey ``Maniac'' Magee, a white boy who runs faster and hits balls farther than anyone, who lives on his own with amazing grace, and is innocent as to racial affairs. After running away from a loveless home, he encounters several families, in and around Two Mills, a town sharply divided into the black East End and the white West End. Black, feisty Amanda Beale and her family lovingly open their home to Maniac, and tough, smart-talking ``Mars Bar'' Thompson and other characters are all, to varying degrees, full of prejudices and unaware of their own racism. Racial epithets are sprinkled through the book; Mars Bar calls Maniac ``fishbelly,'' and blacks are described by a white character as being ``today's Indians.'' In the final, disjointed section of the book, Maniac confronts the hatred that perpetuates ignorance by bringing Mars Bar to meet the Pickwells--``the best the West End had to offer.'' In the feel-good ending, Mars and Maniac resolve their differences; Maniac gets a home and there is hope for at least improved racial relations. Unreal? Yes. It's a cop-out for Spinelli to have framed this story as a legend--it frees him from having to make it real, or even possible. Nevertheless, the book will stimulate thinking about racism, and it might help educate those readers who, like so many students, have no first-hand knowledge of people of other races. Pathos and compassion inform a short, relatively easy-to-read story with broad appeal, which suggests that to solve problems of racism, people must first know each other as individuals.


Suggested Use
Because of the racial stereotypes brought up in the book, Maniac Magee would be a great novel to partner with a study of the judicial system, putting characters from the book on trial for their actions and opinions, making judgements based on situations depicted in the book. Mock trials and readers theaters would be a superb way to illustrate that students have grasped the concept of character emotions, thoughts, perceptions, and evolutions. Be prepared for lengthy discussions and tense moments, but what a perfect way to address these controversial topics within literature.

Impression
I have known the title for as long as I can remember but have only just now taken the time to read the actual book. I had an easy time picturing the different places in which Maniac Magee found his 'home', cringing in the McNabb's and sighing with relief at the Beale's. I was struck with how forthright the author was in perceptions, and their ignorant origins, of racial color lines. I appreciated his willingness to be so bold as to put such in print.

Module 4(A) - Dear Mr. Henshaw

Book
Dear Mr. Henshaw
Written by Beverly Cleary
Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky

Citation
Cleary, B. (1983). Dear Mr. Henshaw. New York: Avon Books.

Summary
Taking on a letter-writing format, Dear Mr. Henshaw takes the reader through the roller coaster of emotions that a child might feel during and after the traumatic events of his parent's divorce and the usual fall-out that accompanies such a life-changing event. Loneliness, anger, hope, and resolve are evident throughout the book, showing us that the main character, Leigh, is just like each one of us when faced with the mountain to climb of meeting new people and adjusting to a situation we hadn't wanted to be in in the first place. The book ends on a realistic note, making it a superb resource for students who are struggling with a divorce in the family.

Reviews
Publisher's Weekly (August 15, 1994): This amusing, often touching series of letters from Leigh Botts to a children's book author he admires again demonstrates Cleary's right-on perception of a kid's world. Ages 8-12.

Kirkus Review (August 1, 1983): Possibly inspired by the letters Cleary has received as a children's author, this begins with second-grader Leigh Botts' misspelled fan letter to Mr. Henshaw, whose fictitious book itself derives from the old take-off title Forty Ways W. Amuse a Dog. Soon Leigh is in sixth grade and bombarding his still-favorite author with a list of questions to be answered and returned by "next Friday," the day his author report is due. Leigh is disgruntled when Mr. Henshaw's answer comes late, and accompanied by a set of questions for Leigh to answer. He threatens not to, but as "Mom keeps nagging me about your dumb old questions" he finally gets the job done--and through his answers Mr. Henshaw and readers learn that Leigh considers himself "the mediumest boy in school," that his parents have split up, and that he dreams of his truck-driver dad driving him to school "hauling a forty-foot reefer, which would make his outfit add up to eighteen wheels altogether. . . . I guess I wouldn't seem so medium then." Soon Mr. Henshaw recommends keeping a diary (at least partly to get Leigh off his own back) and so the real letters to Mr. Henshaw taper off, with "pretend," unmailed letters (the diary) taking over. . . until Leigh can write "I don't have to pretend to write to Mr. Henshaw anymore. I have learned to say what I think on a piece of paper." Meanwhile Mr. Henshaw offers writing tips, and Leigh, struggling with a story for a school contest, concludes "I think you're right. Maybe I am not ready to write a story." Instead he writes a "true story" about a truck haul with his father in Leigh's real past, and this wins praise from "a real live author" Leigh meets through the school program. Mr. Henshaw has also advised that "a character in a story should solve a problem or change in some way," a standard juvenile-fiction dictum which Cleary herself applies modestly by having Leigh solve his disappearing lunch problem with a burglar-alarmed lunch box--and, more seriously, come to recognize and accept that his father can't be counted on. All of this, in Leigh's simple words, is capably and unobtrusively structured as well as valid and realistic. From the writing tips to the divorced-kid blues, however, it tends to substitute prevailing wisdom for the little jolts of recognition that made the Ramona books so rewarding.


Suggested Use
Because of the letter-writing format of the book, a literary blog would be a perfect activity to culminate the thoughts, feelings, and concepts introduced in Dear Mr. Henshaw. Giving students a chance to interactively blog in response to teacher-led discussions and questions would open the doors of communication, making the hard-to-talk-about aspects of this novel easier to address. Because the teacher would respond to students' blogs, discussions and future questions could be geared toward specific topics brought up by the students.

Impression
I have "known" about this book since I was in elementary school. It was surrounded, even back then, with controversy. I suppose the subject of divorce wasn't something to be spoken of so freely which is such a shame because I can imagine many of my friends would have appreciated hearing what Leigh was going through. I enjoyed this chapter book very much. I appreciated Leigh's honest approach to what was happening in his life. The touch of humor was nice, too, as I'm sure many a child needed a laugh and a break from constantly thinking about what was happening in his life. I would recommend this book to any of my students going through a traumatic event in their life, even with its controversial-ness!