Dear Mr. Henshaw

Leigh Botts is the protagonist of the story and serves as the first-person narrator. At the beginning of the story, Leigh is a gregarious second grader who composes yearly fan letters to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. Mr. Henshaw’s book Ways to Amuse a Dog makes quite an impression on Leigh, and he enjoys telling the author his favorite parts of the book. However, as Leigh gets older, the tone of his letters changes, and it becomes clear that Leigh has a difficult home life. As Leigh enters sixth grade, his parents get a divorce and he and his mother move to another town. When Leigh chooses to do a report on Mr. Henshaw for a school project, he asks the author a series of personal questions. Mr. Henshaw doesn’t answer them, but he does send Leigh a list of questions about himself, and as Leigh answers them, he reveals the depth of his depression. Leigh has low self-esteem and describes himself as “just a plain boy” (14). Alone at school and home, Leigh wrestles with finding his place when the world seems to not even notice him.

When Leigh mentions wanting to become a writer, Mr.