Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme by Avery Monsen and illustrated by Abby Hanlon is an ear tickling tale about a boy who has lost his ability to rhyme words---even when that rhyming word is on the tip of everyone else’s tongue. “He tried not to panic. He played it real cool and picked up his backpack and walked to his…learning place with teachers and stuff.” Obviously, the rhyming word here is school!
This goes on as Chester meets his teacher and plays with his friends. His friends are concerned for their classmate and try their best to help him recover his ability to make rhymes. Nothing works and by the end of the day Chester philosophizes: “So maybe I don’t need to be quite so stressed if I give it my all but I’m not at my …tippy- top peak performance.”
This delightful picture book ends joyfully when Chester decides playing with words should really be fun. And the illustration, showing all the story’s characters drenched in fun while laughing, dancing and singing, is particularly wonderful. Everyone is there including the cow who jumped over the moon, Humpty Dumpty, the three pigs and the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker! The happy illustrations are colorfully done in gouache and colored pencils on watercolor paper.
Children will enjoy coming up with the rhyming word that Chester cannot speak and will most probably say the word aloud when listening to this story.
Chester Van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme written by Avery Monsen and illustrated by Abby Hanlon will delight children 4-8 years of age as well as any younger siblings within ear-reach (Little Brown and Company, 2022).
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Activity Questions for Chester Van Chime:
When you turn to the book’s delightful end papers you will see figures from the story that have two rhyming words each. Say each of these rhyming words out loud to hear the rhyme. There are 32 such figures on the front-end papers and 32 on the back-end papers. Try rhyming all 64 figures. Speak loud and clear so you can enjoy the rhymes. Then, how about coming up with a third rhyming word for each figure?
Take another look at the double spread toward the end of this picture book that has the word FUN on it. Try to find the following possible nursery rhyme characters: Humpty Dumpty, the cow who jumped over the moon, the butcher, the baker, the candlestick maker, Old King Cole (remember he was a merry old soul), the three pigs, a mouse that ran up the clock, a possible chicken little and just for fun, look for Chester’s teacher.
Looking back at the story, think about these questions: Why was Chester so upset when he lost his ability to make rhymes? How did he finally get this ability back? Have you ever forgotten how to do something? How did it make you feel?
