How is the book Dear Mr. Henshaw organized, and how does the organization help tell the story?

The book Dear Mr. Henshaw is
organized chronologically. The story is told exclusively through the writings of the
main character, Leigh Botts. In the beginning, these writings appear in the form of
letters written to Leigh's favorite author, Mr. Henshaw; Leigh writes the first letter
in the second grade. As the story progresses, Mr. Henshaw encourages Leigh to keep a
diary, and entries to this diary, as well as some of Leigh's school writing assignments,
are included as well.

The author's creative use of
this form of organization serves a couple of purposes. First of all, because the story
is told from Leigh's first-person perspective through his writings, the reader is given
insight into his thoughts, feelings, and reactions to the pivotal events in his life.
This personal approach allows the reader to really understand the character as he grows
through the years.

The second purpose served by the
author's method of organization is that it allows the reader to experience first-hand
Leigh's emotional and intellectual growth. The first letter, which was written when
Leigh was in second grade, is very brief and filled with spelling errors. As Leigh
progresses through the years, his grammar and spelling improve age-appropriately, and
his letters and entries get longer. By the time he is in sixth grade, Leigh writes quite
well, and his entries start to take the form of real narrative. In addition to his
academic growth, Leigh's emotional growth is also evident in his writings, as he shows a
greater ability to see things from perspectives other than his own, and to deal with the
difficulties in his life as he gets older. By telling the story through Leigh's words as
he grows from childhood to early adolescence, the author allows the reader to experience
that time of growth with him.