Customer Reviews

Chester's Way

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book because my maiden name is Chester- honestly, it's the only reason I got it! What a delight to find that the story is amusing and worth every penny. Chester is a mouse who does things his own way- he always eats the same thing for breakfast, he always uses hand signals when he rides his bike, and he never leaves the house without double-knotting his shoelaces. Chester's best friend's name is Wilson (my mother's maiden name- another delightful surprise!), and he and Chester are inseperable. When Wilson accidentally swallows a watermelon seed and cries because he's afraid he'll grow a watermelon in his belly, Chester swallows one too, so Wilson won't be alone in his predicament. This pair are like two peas in a pod...and then Lilly moves into the neighborhood. Lilly has HER own way of doing things, and Chester and Wilson avoid her like the plague. That is, until she scares of some neighborhood bullies trying to pick on Wilson and Chester. From then on, the three of them go everywhere together, and Chester and Wilson find that Lilly has many of the same interests that they do. An amusing and chuckle-out-loud story for all. Be sure to get "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse", too.

Kevin Henkes is an absolute treasure. His stories are a treat for both children and adults combining rhythmic prose and engaging artwork. "Chester's Way" is a delightful book about friendship. Wilson and Chester are the best of friends, and that's the way it was...until Lilly came along. Lilly does things differently than Chester and Wilson. However, they eventually become friends and learn from one another. My son and his best friend liked the story so much that they dressed as Chester and Wilson for Halloween one year.

Chester's Way is an excellent introduction to how we choose friends and sometimes having friends with personalities which are different can be an asset. I highly reccommend this book and also 'Personality Plus' by Florence Littauer (for adults).

We are going to be using this book on our unit on Friendship. We will discuss the likes of each of the characters in the book, and how different they may be, but how they are friends. Kevin Henkes has a wonderful website as well, where you can get reproducibles. As a counselor and parent it is an invaluable resource!!...

Wilson and Chester are best friends and do everything together like practicing bike hand signals and reading the fine art of croquet. Their world is shook when Lilly moves into the neighborhood. A free spirit that always wears a disguise when she leaves the house and carries a squirt gun "just in case". Henkes has developed these 3 characters with wonderful personalities and just enough adult wit that entertains the adult reader while reading to your child.

I am currently student teaching and I chose this book for a read aloud in a first grade classroom and the kids (both the boys and the girls) loved it. I think that it is a really cute and funny story and since all the characters are mice you don't have to worry about any kind of racial implications. Lilly, one of the main characters, has such a strong personality and I feel like first graders can really learn a lot from her. I think that she shows that it's okay to think outside the box and just because you are female you don't have to be this quiet, proper being, you can be free and out there. It's a really fun book and I encourge parents and teachers to read it to young ones.

When I read this book it made me reminisce about my friend and me. We do everything together.
When Lilly moved in, it was bad for Chester and Wilson to not like her. Then it was nice of her to help them out when they were in a predicament.

With a style of writing that children adore and understand, and illustrations that capture wandering eyes, Kevin Henkes portrays a very real situation that children can relate to. The loveable characters and an histerically-cute chain of events, this book is a favorite to all who discover it.

I read Chester's Way. The reason I liked Chester's way because it's just like me and my friend. We do almost everything together. In the book I read Chester won't play baseball unless Wilson plays. This convinced me that it was a good book.

My four year old loves this book, when Lilly does her stuff my son loses it, he actually gets belly laughs. We read his book five nights in a row when we first got it, and we didn't mind reading it over and over. Lilly really is a crack up. The moral is great. I have since bought "Julius Baby of the World" and we have read this the past three nights in a row, and we look forward to reading more by Kevin Henkes.