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| image from www.amazon.com |
Summary —
This is a hilarious little picture book that pits the author/illustrator Melanie Watt against her pet cat Chester in telling the story. Melanie intends to write about a mouse living in the country, but Chester takes his red pen and edits the book so that it is all about him. Melanie tries to wrest the story from Chester and continue telling her original narrative of a mouse in the country, but Chester is insistent in making the book about a cat named Chester. Eventually, Melanie gives in and makes it all about him. But she has her fun with story, drawing Chester in pink tutu.
Lucien’s thoughts —
This was a one of the best picture books I’ve read so far. The give and take between the two dueling authors is wonderful, and clearly illustrated for the reader: Melanie’s story is in black text, while Chester’s edits are in red.The book’s story is incredibly funny as the two voices argue back and forth in trying to tell the tale in the way that each intends.There is a humorous escalation and tension between the two diverging story-lines and the pay-off at the end is really funny. My daughter laughed throughout the book as I read it to her, especially enjoying the illustrations of Chester getting wet in the rain and then wearing a pink tutu. The marginalia on the edges of the text is just the frosting on the cake, adding little flourishes to the rival stories. I will definitely be buying a copy of this book.
Librarian’s use —
I think this book would be a great springboard into a writing class on the topic of editing. The librarian can ask students to write a short story about their pet (or the pet they wish they had, if they don’t have one). Then, invite them to edit their story with a red pen to change some aspect of their original story. The revised story can be as outlandish and silly as their imagination will allow.
Other reviews —
Stevenson, D. (2007), Chester (review). Bulletin for the center for children’s books, 61 (3), 155.
Watt presents audiences with the story of a mouse—or she tries to, but her cat Chester has a red marker and his own idea about the subject of the story: himself. Cat owner and cat fight out the battle for narrative supremacy spread by spread, with Chester drawing cats over the mouse portraits in the illustrations, filling pages with songs of praise to himself, and scribbling satiric images of his mistress and the long-suffering fictional mouse. While the conclusion and some of the logic are a little weak, the notion is entertaining and its execution, which essentially characterizes Chester as a mischievous middle-grader, is frequently hilarious, hitting youngsters right on the funnybone of contention. Illustrations are wisely restrained, operating as a stage set for the front-of-house action (in fact, the mouse-story art and design are cunningly a little bit staid and sweetsy), and overstuffed Chester looms smugly across boundaries as he pleases. This entertains both as a cat story and as an entry-level metatextual narrative, suitable for youngsters not yet ready for Kevin O'Malley's Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude.
Ethington, J, (2012) The hungry bookworm reviews… Chester by Melanie Watt. Retrieved from http://arlingtonlibrary.org/kids-blog/hungry-bookworm-reviews-chester-melanie-watt
Author Melanie Watt is trying to write a story about a mouse, but her chubby calico cat Chester just won't stay away! On almost every page in the book Chester has taken his big, red marker and rewritten the story to make himself the star. Chester's interfering makes the mouse bring in a dog who, with the help of the big-red-marker, becomes a vegetarian who only eats carrots! Finally the mouse says "I can't work like this!", and author Melanie decides to write Chester his own story. But what the calico cat doesn't realize is that Melanie might just write something he DOESN'T like...and it may be pink!
The story of Chester is adorable and I love the illustrations. If your child has a tendency to doodle then this book will definitely be of interest to him or her, since Chester doodles everywhere! Chester is definitely an attention seeker (like many kitties), so reading this story may create a conversation starter for parents and kids about what it means to be like Chester.
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