Fleischman, P. (1999). Weslandia. Candlewick Press.
The diversity of author Paul Fleischman cannot be denied. From wordless picture books to chapter books for middle schoolers on heavy subjects to poetry, Fleischman dabbles successfully in an array of genres and writing styles. This particular selection, Weslandia, is a picture book with a text story by Fleischman and a pairing with illustrator Kevin Hawkes. The illustrator worked with Fleischman again in 2004 in Sidewalk Circus, and the two of them apparently get one another’s visions and mesh well. Hawk es color drenched, full page bleeds are very appealing and help to tell the story beyond just the text.
The story is focused on a boy named Wesley who some would consider to be a bit “nerdy.” However, I see him as an extremely smart and mature child who is not on the same cognitive or emotional level as his peers are. Wesley knows what he likes, and doesn’t conform to any of the peer pressure or trends that he encounters on a daily basis in his life. As the story opens up, we find that Wesley is alienated by his peers as well as his parents, but that doesn’t stop his curious spirit from marching on and exploring ideas by reading. (The kids and I like that he reads and researches to plan his project!) Wesley understands himself, and gets his own genius. With that, he decides to create his own civilization with a “staple food crop” for survival that summer. Magical wind comes through that night to Wesley’s back yard, and within a few days, the seedlings of the staple food crop, a particular and new plant has Wesley’s inquisitiveness about its uses in a food and fiber manner get the ball rolling on the realities of the creation of his civilization in the back yard. He uses the fruit to get juice, leaves for herbs, tuber roots like potatoes, and the bark for weaving into cool clothing and a hat. Wesley not only has a mind to figure out how to use things efficiently, but he knows how to make a profit off of his bounty as well. Through this activity, his civilization comes alive and he is a true leader such as teaching new games and activities, and goes on to create his own written language, system of time and a new way of counting. As the summer wraps up, we watch kids marching behind Wesley to school, and they have adapted to his style of fashion. The bottom line is it can be very good to be different from the crowd, because you can come out being a leader.
This book is one I have used annually for about 5 years, and I share it during the second nine weeks, around January, when I am ready to step up the challenge of a picture book for read aloud. I like the story lines to have less predictability and more complicated plot lines, and I love stories that introduced throughout the story good, juicy vocabulary, as long as it is not too much over their heads. I am big about discussing vocabulary and challenging my kids to use inference for the story’s events. It’s important for the children to all be engaged with listening and thinking about the text, and I find that at the end of the book, there are students will their minds reeling, thinking about what they would do if they could have the ability to create any kind of civilization that they wanted. My kids have worked with map skills and creating maps of things, but not yet of a place of their own design. This book acts as not only a wonderful read aloud, but also a great springboard into a writing workshop specific topic writing piece, with in this case, an accompanying map. Regardless if the student is a girl or boy, I find that they really get into it and love sharing them with their peers at author’s chair time!
The diversity of author Paul Fleischman cannot be denied. From wordless picture books to chapter books for middle schoolers on heavy subjects to poetry, Fleischman dabbles successfully in an array of genres and writing styles. This particular selection, Weslandia, is a picture book with a text story by Fleischman and a pairing with illustrator Kevin Hawkes. The illustrator worked with Fleischman again in 2004 in Sidewalk Circus, and the two of them apparently get one another’s visions and mesh well. Hawk es color drenched, full page bleeds are very appealing and help to tell the story beyond just the text.
The story is focused on a boy named Wesley who some would consider to be a bit “nerdy.” However, I see him as an extremely smart and mature child who is not on the same cognitive or emotional level as his peers are. Wesley knows what he likes, and doesn’t conform to any of the peer pressure or trends that he encounters on a daily basis in his life. As the story opens up, we find that Wesley is alienated by his peers as well as his parents, but that doesn’t stop his curious spirit from marching on and exploring ideas by reading. (The kids and I like that he reads and researches to plan his project!) Wesley understands himself, and gets his own genius. With that, he decides to create his own civilization with a “staple food crop” for survival that summer. Magical wind comes through that night to Wesley’s back yard, and within a few days, the seedlings of the staple food crop, a particular and new plant has Wesley’s inquisitiveness about its uses in a food and fiber manner get the ball rolling on the realities of the creation of his civilization in the back yard. He uses the fruit to get juice, leaves for herbs, tuber roots like potatoes, and the bark for weaving into cool clothing and a hat. Wesley not only has a mind to figure out how to use things efficiently, but he knows how to make a profit off of his bounty as well. Through this activity, his civilization comes alive and he is a true leader such as teaching new games and activities, and goes on to create his own written language, system of time and a new way of counting. As the summer wraps up, we watch kids marching behind Wesley to school, and they have adapted to his style of fashion. The bottom line is it can be very good to be different from the crowd, because you can come out being a leader.
This book is one I have used annually for about 5 years, and I share it during the second nine weeks, around January, when I am ready to step up the challenge of a picture book for read aloud. I like the story lines to have less predictability and more complicated plot lines, and I love stories that introduced throughout the story good, juicy vocabulary, as long as it is not too much over their heads. I am big about discussing vocabulary and challenging my kids to use inference for the story’s events. It’s important for the children to all be engaged with listening and thinking about the text, and I find that at the end of the book, there are students will their minds reeling, thinking about what they would do if they could have the ability to create any kind of civilization that they wanted. My kids have worked with map skills and creating maps of things, but not yet of a place of their own design. This book acts as not only a wonderful read aloud, but also a great springboard into a writing workshop specific topic writing piece, with in this case, an accompanying map. Regardless if the student is a girl or boy, I find that they really get into it and love sharing them with their peers at author’s chair time!
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