CHESTER AND UNCLE WILLOUGHBY

by Patricia Kier Edwards ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 1987

Old Uncle Willoughby is good at stories and enjoying dinner, but best at sleeping. His young nephew, Chester, spends time talking with him and watching him sleep. In one of the four episodes, the two make up new words for ""America"": ""My Uncle Willoughby eats twice as much as me. . .takes whiskey in his tea."" The game of imagining ""What would you do if. . ."" brings a lion onto the porch and takes the players to the ocean. They imagine ""nothing,"" till Chester, in fear and awe, crawls up on Uncle Willoughby's expansive paunch, and the good Uncle verbally re-creates the world: ""I expect after a while along would come a sort of shiver. . .And then--why, then there would be everything!"" There's a lot of warmth and humor here, and a touch of the profound. Despite the difference in their ages, the two cronies enjoy each other's company and conversation. Best, this is a fine introduction to the power of curiosity and the mind's ability to translate reality. The softly washed watercolors are appropriately sensitive, funny, and endearing.

Pub Date: Oct. 1, 1987

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Little, Brown

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1987

Categories: CHILDREN'S