Chester's Way

by Kevin Henkes Narrated by Laura Hamilton

Overview

Chester always eats the same things for breakfast, double-knots his shoes, and gets out of bed on the same side, and so does his best friend Wilson.

Then Lilly moves into the neighborhood.

Everything she does is different, and at first Chester and Wilson don't like her. It isn't until Lilly's differences save them from bullies that they begin to realize that sometimes being different can be a good thing.

A ListenUp Audiobooks production.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

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. (August)

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Kevin Henkes's charming story (Greenwillow Books, 1988) of two friends who are truly "two peas in a pod" comes to life in this quality production. Chester and Wilson do everything the same way, from cutting sandwiches to playing baseball. Then Lilly, of purple plastic purse fame, moves into the neighborhood. Lilly has her own way of doing things, and Chester and Wilson don't know quite what to make of her until the day she uses one of her disguises to frighten off some misbehaving older boys. Chester and Wilson look at Lilly in a new light, and discover that the three of them have more in common than they previously believed, and that perhaps different ways of doing things are just fine. Narrator Laura Hamilton keeps listeners engaged with her terrific intonation and distinct voice for each character. Background music and sound effects enhance the tale. One side of the recording has page-turn signals to help youngsters read along.-Judy Czarnecki, Chippewa River District Library System, Mt. Pleasant, MI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

From the Publisher

"Children will make Chester's Way their own." — School Library Journal

"The virtues of variety, experimentation, and friendship are deftly handled in the amusing, believable story." — The Horn Book

The Horn Book

"The virtues of variety, experimentation, and friendship are deftly handled in the amusing, believable story."

Product Details

BN ID:	2940178654811
Publisher:	Live Oak Media
Publication date:	01/01/2004
Series:	Kevin Henkes's Mouse Books
Edition description:	Unabridged
Age Range:	5 - 8 Years

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