Hooway for Wodney Wat

Poor Rodney Rat cannot say his r's so he sounds like Wodney Wat. What is even worse is that he is a rodent, a wodent. All the kids at school know that Wodney has this problem and purposely ask him questions that involve r's - like how does a train travel? To which Wodney is miserably forced to answer "a twain twavels on twain twacks." His fellow classmates aren't mean to Wodney, but he is not included in games and has become terribly shy, hiding in his jacket most of the time and keeping to himself. But then something happened that drew all of the students' attention away from Wodney, or rather, someone. Camilla Capybara burst into the classroom and pronounced that she was bigger than anyone, she was meaner than anyone and she was smarter than anyone. So there. Camilla quickly proved that she was right, as she trampled the kids on the way to the playground and answered questions in class before they were answered. When Wodney found out that he was to be the leader for the class' game of Simons Says, he was terrified. What would Camilla do when she heard him speak? What ensues will have children laughing out loud as Wodney unwitting becomes a hero and saves his whole class from the fearsome Camilla.I simply love this book and every time I read it to my nephews, I laugh. It is a great book to read aloud to children and is just the perfect length, not too long so that the children lose interest, but not too short to where you have to read another one. The illustrations are charming and the text is fabulous! This book quickly became a favorite in my house and I am sure that your children will love it, too. Anytime we are feeling down or picked upon for something that we do differently, we read this book to help remind the kids that sometimes what others perceive as weaknesses can turn out to be strengths.

This is one of my favorite read alouds in my classroom. There is a great lesson in the story as Rodney triumphs over adversity. Children love the humor and word play. The book is well illustrated.

As an elementary school librarian, I like promoting books in which a child's disability actually turns into a gift. Here poor picked-upon Wodney, who hides his head inside his jacket at recess, becomes the hero of his class by inadvertently driving the new bully away.This story reminds me of "Gerald McBoing Boing," by Dr. Seuss, which is about a boy who can't talk, but only makes sounds. Wodney Wat is sure to encourge many kids, with or without disabilities, for many years to come!

Voted best picture book in my first grade class for the 1999-2000 school year. Everyone can relate to Wodney in some way. The fact that Wodney becomes a hero in the end, gives each one of us a hope of coping with our differences. We loved all of Helen Lester's books!

They've done it again! The team who brought us such memorable books as A Porcupine Named Fluffy and Tacky the Penguin are at their absolute best with Hooway for Wodney Wat. Funny text and hysterical illustrations combine to make the perfect read aloud book. I laughed so hard I cried. A must have!