argonut's Full Review: Paul Fleischman - Weslandia
It is difficult to remember how many alternative universes I traveled to as a child. There was the one that was an animal refuge that my best friend and I decided we would construct in the forest between our houses. I also recall an underground ice cave replete with beds, closets and even an oven made out of powdery packed snow. I even once discovered the secret jewel storage facilities that were cunningly hidden beneath my baby brother’s crib.
Weslandia, a picture book by Newberry Medal winner Paul Fleischman and Illustrated by Kevin Hawkes was written for anyone who has made a habit of journeying into worlds that others do not dare to go. The tale follows the adventures of Wesley who is scored by his peers and misunderstood by his parents for having the gumption to think on his own. Wesley is intelligent, resourceful and practical. He also makes a habit of challenging what is accepted as normal in his town, such as the practice for all boys to shave half of their heads.
While Wesley is rewarded with nothing but misery for his courageous stands of principle, he soon realizes that the impending summer vacation is a very frightening experience unless he discovers a worthwhile summer project. In an effort that would have made both Darwin and Christopher Columbus proud, Wesley sets out to use what he had learned in school to grow his own staple food crop and found his own civilization in his back yard. While neighbors and friends chalk his efforts up to immediate failure, Wesley proudly faces adversity and succeeds in changing his town to be more accepting and open.
Fleischman’s story is playful and entertaining while sticking to its guns about the heroic Wesley’s strength of character and determination. The author does a great job of setting up the tale to allow the illustrator, Hawkes, to invent a colorful world straight out of a boy’s imagination. With pictorial homage to such stories as Robinson Crusoe, Swiss Family Robinson and even 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, Hawkes brings the reader into Wesley’s rich, deep garden world.
Weslandia will hold special appeal to children who love gardening, anthropology or stories of adventure and far off places. Parents will enjoy it for its straightforward message, that alternative universes may lie no farther than a child’s own back yard.
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