Weslandia

By: Paul Fleischman

Illustrated: Kevin Hawkes

This was my first Paul Fleischman story I've ever read and really enjoyed the character of Wesley. Poor Wesley is an outcast-very different from the rest of kids his age. I felt sorry for him because he seemed very lonely on the first picture I saw of him, listening to his parents talk about how he "sticks out." What I thought was incredible about Wesley was his incredible motivation. He started working on a project over the summer and this kid seems amazing. He grew plants, made clothes, used a sundial, created games and his very own language. This kid is awesome!

The best part of the story was the end. Unlike the rest of the story, the words on the last page were printed on a pale, yellow piece of paper. Also, the last page of text was only one sentence: "He had no shortage of friends." When Wesley went back to school, his classmates had been amazed at all of his creations. The end text really stood out. I was prepared for a paragraph about how he went back to school and told his teachers what he had done over the summer. This is a great story about it being okay if you're different.