Strider is a novel by children's author Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary

Beverly Cleary is an American author. Educated at colleges in California and Washington, she worked as a librarian before writing children's books. Cleary has written more than 30 books for young adults and children. Some of her best-known characters are Henry Huggins, Ribsy, Beatrice Quimby, her...

; it is the sequel to Dear Mr. Henshaw

Dear Mr. Henshaw

Dear Mr. Henshaw is a juvenile epistolary novel by Beverly Cleary which was awarded the Newbery Medal in 1984.-Plot summary:Dear Mr. Henshaw begins with the book's main character, Leigh Botts, writing a letter, as part of a second grade classroom assignment, to his favorite author, Boyd Henshaw. Mr...

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Plot summary

Strider takes place a couple of years after the end of Dear Mr. Henshaw, and Leigh Botts has grown a lot. One day, while walking on the beach, he and his friend, Barry, find a stray dog they name Strider. Leigh and Barry decide to share custody of Strider, in the same way divorced parents share custody of their children. This reflects the fact Leigh is never given into the custody of his father as his father kept the family dog and his mother kept Leigh. However, as time goes on, Barry does not seem to take good care of Strider, which causes trouble for Leigh. Finally, feeling desperate, Leigh winds up taking custody of the dog. He also joins the track team, and has a crush on a girl with red hair named Geneva.