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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. Leigh tells Mr. Henshaw in his December 13 letter that the first page of his diary looks the way he feels – which is what?

2. Leigh closes his fifth letter to Mr. Henshaw on December 2 with an enclosure, saying that his class is studying what?

3. In Mr. Henshaw’s response to Leigh that Leigh read aloud to his class, he answered that his real name was what?

4. How does Leigh describe most of the grownups by where he lives in his fifth letter to Mr. Henshaw on December 2?

5. What word from Leigh’s November 13 letter refers to a three-dimensional model?

Short Essay Questions

1. What does Leigh remark about Mr. Henshaw’s response in his November 15 letter?

2. What does Leigh write about in his December 12 letter to Mr. Henshaw? Where did Leigh receive a postcard from?

3. Describe the narrative style of Dear Mr. Henshaw. From whose perspective is the story related?

4. What books are discussed in Leigh’s letters to Mr. Henshaw on October 2 and November 2 in the beginning of the book?

5. On December 1, Leigh answers the final questions sent by Mr. Henshaw. How does he respond to “What do you wish?”

6. What is the third question Leigh responds to on November 22? What is his response?

7. How are Leigh’s diary entries differentiated from his letters in Dear Mr. Henshaw?

8. Where does Leigh say his father phoned him from in his January 8 diary entry?

9. What ploy does Leigh develop to thwart the lunch bag robber after the Christmas holidays? Is he successful?

10. Which of Mr. Henshaw’s questions does Leigh respond to on November 20? What are his responses?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Define “epistolary” and discuss the characteristics of this style of literature. What documents can be used to make up an epistolary work of fiction? How does this literary style develop greater realism to a story? How is the narrative point of view determined in an epistolary novel?

Essay Topic 2

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?

Essay Topic 3

Discuss Leigh’s concerns about his lunch bag being robbed and the potential solutions for this problem. Why does Leigh say he can’t tell the teacher about the robbery? What else might Leigh do in order to stop the thief? What does he eventually do in order to thwart the thief?

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