How It All Goes Down
Leigh Botts is obsessed with a book by his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw, and decides to write to him about it. At first, he's just a second-grader who doesn't spell well, but he keeps writing every year until sixth grade. That's—count 'em—four years of letters. When Leigh's sixth-grade teacher gives the class an assignment to write to their favorite author and ask 10 questions, there's no doubt to whom Leigh is going to write.
When Mr. Henshaw himself finally writes back, our story really begins. Mr. Henshaw responds to Leigh's questions about him and asks Leigh 10 questions right back. As Leigh answers those questions, we gradually learn about his family problems and the loneliness he's facing in his new school.
Leigh lives with his mom in a seaside California town, where they'd moved to after his parents broke up. Mom got Leigh, and Dad got the dog, Bandit. Leigh misses his dad and Bandit in the worst way. His dad is a truck driver who hauls fruits and vegetables and doesn't always remember to call Leigh. Leigh is not feeling too good about himself; he thinks his dad isn't all that interested in him and concludes he must not be very lovable. He describes himself as the "mediumest" kid in school. He doesn't think anyone notices him, and he's too new at the school to have any friends yet. Plus, someone is stealing all the best stuff out of his lunch bag, and nothing he tries puts a stop to it.
Mr. Henshaw never writes to Leigh about his problems with his dad, but you can see he understands because he keeps regularly writing to Leigh. Mr. H. gives all kinds of advice about being a writer, which Leigh tries his best to follow. Leigh tells Mr. Henshaw more about his parents' divorce, and how his dad hardly ever visits or calls. Mr. H. encourages Leigh to keep a diary so he can write down his thoughts and feelings; he thinks that's a good way to learn to be a writer.
Leigh has a lot to get off his chest. He writes…and writes and writes. And as he does, we see his writing skills improve along with his ability to come to terms with his family situation.
Along with Mr. Henshaw, Leigh manages to find other adults who help him get through the tough times. He befriends Mr. Fridley, the school's custodian, who doles out good advice and suggests a burglar alarm to catch the thief that's been stealing stuff out of his lunch bag.
Leigh keeps hoping his dad will call (because he promises he will), but he gets disappointed over and over again. He's sad remembering all the good times they had before the family split up, and he has long talks with his mom about why she married his dad and why they got divorced. Mom is steady and hardworking; she's Leigh's emotional anchor. When Leigh accidentally finds out that his dad's hanging out with another woman and her son, Mom is there to comfort him. If that's not bad enough, his dad has also lost Bandit. Leigh is so angry and hurt inside that he almost turns into a destructive, go-to-the-principal type of kid. Thankfully, Mr. Fridley talks him back from the ledge. This crisis gives Leigh a more realistic outlook on the chances of his dad being the kind of father he really wants.
Leigh's school holds a writing competition, and Leigh writes an awesome descriptive essay about a day he went driving on the big rig with his dad.
The essay wins an honorable mention, but Leigh is bummed because he didn't win the big prize—lunch with a mysterious famous author. His only consolation is that the author isn't Mr. Henshaw. But the winning entry ends up being a plagiarized copy, and Leigh takes the winner's place. He meets the famous author and is really encouraged when she calls him an author. She loves that he wrote about something he knew so well rather than trying to imitate another writer. Score one for Leigh, and for Mr. Henshaw, who told him the same thing.
In the continuing saga of the lunch bag thief, Leigh figures out how to make a burglar alarm. This stops the thief and earns him the notice of his classmates. One of them, Barry, becomes the friend he's been wanting so much.
Leigh ends up with mad writing skills, a friend, and no more stolen lunches. It's not all smooth sailing, though, because he still doesn't have the thing he wants most: a great relationship with his dad. After Dad finds Bandit and shows up at Leigh's house asking to get back together with Mom, Leigh realizes that it's just not gonna happen—his dad is not the settling-down type and his mom is done trying. He seems to be able to accept that, and even gives Bandit back to Dad to keep him company on the road.
The story ends on a happy-but-not-happy note, with his dad leaving again and taking Bandit with him. We're not sure whether we like the very realistic ending or if what we really want is the happily-ever-after, where Leigh's parents get back together and everything's perfect. Beverly Cleary knew, though. Life's not perfect and that's how she wrote it.