Chester's Way: A Classic Picture Book by Caldecott Medalist Kevin Henkes About Friendship for Children (Ages 4-8) - Hardcover

Henkes, Kevin

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0688076076 ISBN 13: 9780688076078

Publisher: Greenwillow Books, 1988

Synopsis

A classic, evergreen picture book starring the beloved mice Chester, Lilly, and Wilson, about making new friends, trying new things, and accepting change from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kevin Henkes.

There is only one way for Chester to do things—his own way. Luckily Chester’s best friend, Wilson, likes doing things just the same way as Chester. When they cut their sandwiches, it's always diagonally. When they ride their bikes, they always use hand signals. If Chester is hungry, Wilson is too. They're two of a kind—until indomitable Lilly, who has her own way of doing things, moves into the neighborhood.

The carefully crafted text is perfect for reading aloud and story times, and the artwork, in Chester’s Way and in all of Kevin Henkes’s mouse books, is playful, funny, inviting, and timeless. Publishers Weekly says, “Behind each book is a wide-open heart, one readers can't help but respond to, that makes all of Henkes's books—and especially this one—of special value to children.”

Kevin Henkes is a #1 New York Times bestselling author who has been awarded the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon, two Caldecott Honors, two Newbery Honors, two Geisel Honors, the Children’s Literature Lecture Award, and Children’s Literature Legacy Award, among numerous other honors. Favorites from his body of work include the picture books Waiting, A Parade of Elephants, and The World and Everything in It, and the novels for middle grade readers Olive’s Ocean, Bird Lake Moon, and the Miller Family Stories.

Kevin Henkes’s classic and bestselling mouse books include:

• Chester’s Way
• Chrysanthemum
• Julius, the Baby of the World
• Lilly’s Big Day
• Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse
• Owen
• Sheila Rae, the Brave
• Wemberly Worried
• A Weekend with Wendell
• Penny and Her Marble, Penny and Her Sled, Penny and Her Song, Penny and Her Doll (Level 1 I Can Reads)

School Library Journal Best Book · Publishers Weekly Best Book · ALA Notable Children’s Book · Parenting Magazine Reading Magic Award · New York Public Library's One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing · IRA/CBC Children's Choice · IRA/CBC Teachers' Choice · ABC Children’s Bookseller’s Choice

About this title

About the Author

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; Newbery Honors for Olive’s Ocean and The Year of Billy Miller; and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include Is It Spring?, The World and Everything in It, A House, A Parade of Elephants, Chrysanthemum, and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

From the Back Cover

There was only one way for Chester to do things - his own way. Wilson did things the same way; they were best friends. From double-knotting their shoes to cutting their sandwiches diagonally, Chester and Wilson were two of a kind.

"They really are two peas in a pod," said Chester's mother.

"Looks like it," said Chester's father.

From morning to night - and in every way - they were inseparable. But then they met Lilly ... and extraordinary things happened to their friendship.

Reviews

Kindergarten-Grade 2 Chester is a child of rigid habits. From the way he ties his shoes to what he has for breakfast, he knows exactly how things ought to be done and tolerates no deviations. His friend, Wilson, shares his attitudes and his set routines, and the two are completely satisfied with the way they have arranged their lives. Although Chester's father is mildly disparaging of their obsessive actions, nothing happens to disturb them until Lilly moves into the neighborhood. Lilly is a whirlwind of wacky behavior. While Chester and Wilson cut their sandwiches into neat diagonals, Lilly uses a cookie cutter to make stars and flowers out of hers. Gradually, the two little stuffed shirts and free-swinging Lilly learn to accept each other and reshape all their prejudices to fit a trio, but an amusing surprise is waiting for them, and for the readers, on the last page. Henkes' charming cartoons are drawn with pen-and-ink, washed over with cheerful watercolors. They give witty expressions to his characters. The children's eyes, for instance, are drawn only with dots and tiny lines, but are nevertheless laden with meaning. Children will make Chester's Way their own. Ruth Semrau, Lovejoy School, McKinney, Tex.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Chester's ways are fairly circumscribed: this young mouse has definite likes and dislikes, and there is no changing his mind. His friend Wilson is just like him; they're quite a pair. Then Lilly moves into the neighborhood. She speaks backwards ("YLLIL MA I"), travels only in disguise and carries a water pistol wherever she goes, "just in case." She intimidates Chester and Wilson, until she terrorizes some bullies who are picking on the two friends. Suddenly, Lilly's ways don't look so bad, and the threesome becomes just as like-minded and inseparable as Chester and Wilson's former twosome. Henkes's vision of friendship captures the essence of the childlike; his mice live in a sunny, imaginative world mixed with secure routines and the safety of known factors. The story unwinds at a deliberate pace; every sentence is either downright funny or dense with playful, deadpan humor. The artist/author, as always, gently grants room for differences between people (the turnaround in A Weekend with Wendell , for example, and the reconciliation between Wedge and his stepfather in Two Under Par ). Behind each book is a wide-open heart, one readers can't help but respond to, that makes all of Henkes's booksand especially this oneof special value to children. Ages 4-up.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Greenwillow Books
• Publication date: 1988
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0688076076
• ISBN 13: 9780688076078
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Henkes Kevin
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 32