Strider is an epistolary novel by children's author Beverly Cleary, the sequel to her Newbery Medal-winning novel Dear Mr. Henshaw.
[1] Strider takes place two years after the end of Dear Mr. Henshaw, and Leigh Botts has grown a lot.
Kirkus Reviews called it a "comforting picture of a dear old friend thriving while continuing to work out his problems" and praised Zelinsky illustrations as an "excellent bonus.
"[2] Jim Burke of the San Francisco Examiner wrote that the novel opined that the novel "reinforces the values of responsibility and devotion without being preachy" and stated that Clearly "gently and invisibly demonstrates how daily events reveal our true emotions.
"[3] Penelope Lively of The New York Times Book Review called it "brisk, undemanding, conventional but plausible enough" and wrote that "if there is a whiff of therapy, maybe only the curmudgeonly adult reader will be perturbed.