Book Review: Chester's Back!, Series Title #2 by Mélanie Watt

by DerdriuMarriner

Chester's Back! by Mélanie Watt enchants children and grown-ups of all ages, beyond the targeted 4- to 8-year-old reading audience, with Chester's cave cat, magician and star acts.

Are cats beloved inspirations for art, literature, music?

An unknown from the unfamiliar backwater community of Chesterville accomplishes the unimaginable when a renowned publisher based in the world-important North American province of Ontario and state of New York unexpectedly is swamped with fan mail.

Such world-respected experts as Albert Einstein (March 14, 1879 – April 18, 1955) the scientific philosopher and theoretical physicist, Pablo Ruiz y Picasso (October 25, 1881 – April 8, 1973) the painter and sculptor, and William Shakespeare (April 23, 1564? – April 23, 1616) the playwright and poet brave long lines at the post office to send their testimonials in envelopes bearing Chester the cat’s likeness on honorary 32-cent postage stamps.

The publishing company consents to publication deals since Chester has real-time, true-life fans.

*****

Website: http://melaniewatt.blogspot.com/

*****

Chester the cat takes credit for inventing the wheel.

Interestingly, the New World can claim an independently invented wheel via wheel-like worked stones on kids' toys devised by the Olmecs (1500 BCE to about 400 BCE).
mill wheel in Cedar Point, Chase County, east central Kansas
mill wheel in Cedar Point, Chase County, east central Kansas

Do cats dream of the good old days?

 

But Chester dislikes finding creativity channeled or constricted by publisher and reader expectations of tried and true characters, dialogues, and events. He escapes from fairytale expectations of long ago stories in faraway places through the persona of the ancient feline inventor of:

  • cave art; and
  • wheels.

He nevertheless finds impatient inventiveness on the part of his butler, Country Mouse, who introduces a dinosaur with bad breath from not alternating breath mint-chewing with cave cat-devouring.

Chester gets back as the Great Chesterdini. He hacks fairytale artworks in half. He is bested by:

  • exiting as the disappearing end of vanishing acts;
  • finding the artwork taped back together; and
  • getting replaced by a Chester-costumed pig, #1 of 36+ Chester-replacement auditioners. 

 

Chester the cat luxuriates in such symbols of elegance as long white limousines.

white Chrysler 300C limousine
white Chrysler 300C limousine

Has a cat a chance in dog-eat-dog lifestyles?

 

Chester juxtaposes a dust storm, a quartet of Old Southwest ghost-town buildings, and a super-prickly cactus to visibly mended fairytale artwork. The piglet knows when to abandon creativity clashes which lead to:

  • giant urban-sprawl billboards;
  • long white limousines;
  • names in lights;
  • red carpet events; and
  • red jellybeans.

Chester lets it be known that he answers to the title Sir Chester and that Country Mouse must keep busy but not so industrious as to respond other than immediately to the butler’s bell.

Fulfillment of all of his demands makes Chester so over-confident as to miss the mark on ridiculous outfits to wear to fancy theaters. Eyewitnesses notify newspapers worldwide of Chester’s silly star-collared jumpsuit sporting a tail bell. 

 

Chester the cat appreciates the red carpet treatment.

Pfeil Strasse,  Köln (Cologne), west central Germany
Pfeil Strasse, Köln (Cologne), west central Germany

Is a cat funnier in books or life?

 

Readers operate under clouds of delusion if they contemplate the end to Chester’s star author career. Cats justifiably pride themselves on forgiving humans when people err. Chester gently questions who will win the 500 gazillion red jellybean reward as his picture book co-creator.

Chester's Back! therefore regales children and grown-ups of all ages -- beyond the target audience of pre-schoolers to third-graders aged 4 to 8 years -- with culturally enriching, educationally entertaining adventures amid such domesticated animals as cats, dogs, and mice, thanks to:

  • Sophie Gagnon’s author photo;
  • Kids Can Press Ltd.’s publishing arrangements;
  • Tara Walker’s editorship; and
  • Mélanie Watt’s design, illustrations assembled digitally from pencil and watercolor, and storyline set in Carnation and Kidprint text.  

 

"Chester's Back" (1:02)

Uploaded November 23, 2011, by Philip Kuckyt to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzCBFtpq3y4

Acknowledgment

 

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

 

Image Credits

 

Chester the cat takes credit for inventing the wheel.
Interestingly, the New World can claim an independently invented wheel via wheel-like worked stones on kids' toys devised by the Olmecs (1500 BCE to about 400 BCE).
mill wheel in Cedar Point, Chase County, east central Kansas: Patrick Emerson (Kansas Poetry [Patrick]), CC BY ND 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/kansasphoto/5663997653/

Chester the cat luxuriates in such symbols of elegance as long white limousines.
white Chrysler 300C limousine: N-Lange.de at German Wikipedia, CC BY SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:White_Chrysler_300C_stretch.jpg

Chester the cat appreciates the red carpet treatment.
Pfeil Strasse, Köln (Cologne), west central Germany: Janos Korom Dr. from Wien, Austria, CC BY SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons @ https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:K%C3%B6ln_513.jpg

"Chester's Back" (1:02)
Uploaded November 23, 2011, by Philip Kuckyt to YouTube ~ URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzCBFtpq3y4

Chester the cat highly prizes red jellybeans.
"A sea of jellybeans 4"; Old Ottawa East, Capital Ward (Ward 17), central Ottawa, southeastern Ontario, Central Canada: hairyhenderson, CC BY 2.0, via Flickr @ https://www.flickr.com/photos/hairyhenderson/3915673848/

 

Sources Consulted: Chester's Back! Sells in English and French Formats

 

Watt, Mélanie. 2008. Chester's Back! Toronto, Ontario, Canada; and Tonawanda, NY, U.S.A.: Kids Can Press. 

 

Chester the cat highly prizes red jellybeans.

"A sea of jellybeans 4"; Old Ottawa East, Capital Ward (Ward 17), central Ottawa, southeastern Ontario, Central Canada
"A sea of jellybeans 4"; Old Ottawa East, Capital Ward (Ward 17), central Ottawa, southeastern Ontario, Central Canada
the end which is also the beginning
the end which is also the beginning

Chester's Back! by Mélanie Watt ~ available via Amazon

In this uproarious sequel to Chester, the battle of the picture-book makers continues. Which author-illustrator will come out on top -- Chester or Mélanie Watt -- is anybody's guess!
Chester series

Nevermice: blue t-shirt available via AllPosters

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Me and my purrfectly purrfect Maine coon kittycat, Augusta "Gusty" Sunshine

Gusty and I thank you for reading this article and hope that our product selection interests you; Gusty Gus receives favorite treats from my commissions.
DerdriuMarriner, All Rights Reserved
DerdriuMarriner, All Rights Reserved
Updated: 03/01/2024, DerdriuMarriner
 
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