EDRG 3321 Literature for Public Schools/ Chapter 9

I expanded my knowledge the genre Nonfiction in this chapter. First of all, nonfiction means that only factual, and actual, things that really happen, are informed in the book. The key to nonfiction books is that it is interesting and not boring. The book pointed out something very important to verify in nonfiction books. We need to assure that all information is accurate. The reader is relying on the information to be true. One way to check for accuracy is by checking the author's credentials, usually found on the jacket flap, in the introduction, or on the "About the Author" page at the back of the book. If the author is not a recognized expert then we should check the cited resources. There are several types of nonfiction books such as concept books, which usually focus on a specific topic (colors, opposites, shapes, animals).


AUTHOR PROFILE:

Dear Mr. Henshaw by Beverly Cleary

Boyd Henshaw, a writer, never actually appears in the book. The story is actually about Leigh Botts, a young boy who lives with his divorced mother but misses his father terribly. The beginning of the book is a collection of letters written from Leigh to Mr. Henshaw, his favorite author. The letters show increasing emotional and literary complexity as Leigh grows. They also show his desire to become a writer.The story begins with the main character in the second grade but he progresses to sixth grade in less than 10 pages. Although we never see Mr. Henshaw's reply, Mr. Henshaw apparently answers at least two of Leigh's letters and suggests that a would-be writer should write in a diary every day. At first, Leigh's diary entries take the form of unsent additional letters to Mr. Henshaw, even beginning with the salutation, "Dear Mr. Pretend Henshaw." But as he matures, Leigh eventually decides that he does not need to do this and begins keeping his diary only for himself.
The diary reveals Leigh's loneliness at school, details his troubles with an unknown schoolmate who secretly steals his lunch in the mornings, and most of all shows his sadness about his parents' divorce and his father`s and dog`s (Bandit) elongated absence. The book appears in Houghton Mifflin reading grade 5, theme 4, story 4.

This book was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984.