Chester

Written and illustrated by Melanie Watt

Most enjoyed by Preschoolers through 3rd graders

Cats love attention, any time and any way. It seems they can be quite demanding about it, too. I once had a piano teacher who owned a Siamese cat that loved to walk in front of my piano music whenever I was trying to play. The teacher thought it very funny but I didn't because I usually lost my place and had to start over again.

Chester is a lot like that cat except he wants the author, his owner, to write a story about him and not the mouse she's trying to write about. He keeps interrupting the story, marking up the pictures with his own doodles, and adding his version to her writing. It looks like Chester will win the battle until the author turns the tables and creates a story about Chester that he doesn't like one bit. You'll love the last two-page picture of Chester! If you have a cat at home who rules the house, you'll recognize Chester right away!

You'll find that 'Chester' provides lots of inspiration for you to write your own story. Instead of a mouse and a cat, can you think of another animal pair that might not want to be in each other's story? Perhaps a fox and a rabbit, or a frog and a fly. Now how would they go about interrupting each other's story? I'll bet you can come up with some fun situations for your animal pair, just like Chester and the mouse! Try it!