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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Who saves the young bears in winter in the story Beggar Bears?

2. Where does Leigh say he and his mother ate their dinner in his February 5 diary entry?

3. What does Leigh describe on the sign where the butterflies gather in his February 7 diary entry?

4. In his March 6 diary entry, Leigh describes Barry’s house as “a big old house-that is sort of cheerful and messy, with” what “all over the place”?

5. Where does Barry say he’d like to install an alarm after Leigh’s lunchbox success?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Leigh reveal about Mr. Henshaw’s advice in his letter from February 28?

2. Where does Leigh describe going on a walk in his diary entry from February 7?

3. With what passionate line does Leigh begin his diary entry on February 4? What drives this passion?

4. What is related in Leigh’s “review” of Beggar Bears in his January 15 letter?

5. How does Leigh’s dad describe losing Bandit? Where was he when Bandit was lost?

6. How does Leigh describe the butterflies when he first sees them in his February 7 diary entry?

7. What does Leigh relate to Mr. Henshaw about his diary in his letter from January 12?

8. What outcome does Leigh describe of his alarm invention in his diary entries from March 5 and 6?

9. What does Leigh tell Mr. Henshaw about the writing competition in his letter from January 19?

10. What frustrations does Leigh vent in his diary on January 20?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Discuss the theme of the struggles of divorce seen in Dear Mr. Henshaw. Why does Leigh have difficulty dealing with his parents’ divorce? What are the consequences that Leigh faces from this disruption? How does Leigh blame himself for the divorce?

Essay Topic 2

Discuss Leigh’s feelings of despair and jealousy following his phone call with his dad in February. Why does Leigh believe he hates his father? What actions has Leigh’s dad committed that have injured Leigh emotionally? How is this situation resolved?

Essay Topic 3

In Dear Mr. Henshaw, Leigh writes to his favorite author from second through sixth grades. Discuss Beverly Cleary’s use of language to depict the maturity of Leigh as he continues writing to Mr. Henshaw. For instance, what grammatical and spelling errors can you find in Leigh’s early letters? How do Leigh’s mistakes change as he gets older?

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 957 words (approx. 4 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample