Symbolism, Imagery, Allegory
Ways to Get More Allowance is a book we'd totally dig right now. We're guessing the author would get lots of fan mail, too.
Did Mr. Henshaw get lots of fan mail about Ways to Amuse a Dog? He certainly did from Leigh. It's the reason Leigh writes to Mr. Henshaw in the first place. And every year after that for four years.
Ways to Amuse a Dog starts this important bond between author and boy that deepens into a friendship/mentorship that carries Leigh through his very difficult sixth-grade year. The book helps Leigh through some tough stuff, like losing his dog in the divorce. He says:
I really miss Bandit, but I guess he's happier riding around with Dad. Like the father said in Ways to Amuse a Dog, dogs get pretty bored just lying around the house all day. (14.2)
Ways to Amuse a Dog also helps Leigh get noticed at school. "The only time anybody paid much attention to me was in my last school when I gave the book report," Leigh writes (15.3). It sounds kinda sad, actually, that it takes a book report for the guy to feel special, but, hey, he'll take it.
The book is a constant thing in Leigh's life, but as he gets older, he relates to it in different ways. When he's little, he reads it for fun. When things get tough, he reads it "for the thousandth time. I read harder books now, but I still feel good when I read that book" (52.18). It's familiar and comforting, like a soft, broken-in shirt.
At the end of the story, the book becomes the reason Leigh gives Bandit back to his dad, to keep him company on the long rides. He's using the book in a deeper way, to learn empathy for his dad. Beverly Cleary is using Leigh's favorite book to tell us that good literature can become part of our lives, like favorite friends we always want to spend time with.
Until someone writes Ways to Get More Allowance, this is one book Leigh will definitely be holding onto.