Weslandia

“This fantastical picture book, like its hero, is bursting at the seams with creativity. . . . a vigorous shot in the arm to nonconformists everywhere” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Enter the witty, intriguing world of Weslandia! Now that school is over, Wesley needs a summer project. He’s learned that each civilization needs a staple food crop, so he decides to sow a garden and start his own — civilization, that is. He turns over a plot of earth, and plants begin to grow. They soon tower above him and bear a curious-looking fruit. As Wesley experiments, he finds that the plant will provide food, clothing, shelter, and even recreation. It isn’t long before his neighbors and classmates develop more than an idle curiosity about Wesley — and exactly how he is spending his summer vacation.

Author Biography

Paul Fleischman is the author of many books for children, including the Newbery Medal–winning Joyful Noise: Poems for Two Voices. With Candlewick Press, he is the author of The Dunderheads, The Matchbox Diary, and Eyes Wide Open, and Alphamaniacs: Builders of 26 Wonders of the Word. He lives in Monterey, California.   Kevin Hawkes is the award-winning illustrator of more than fifty acclaimed picture books, including the New York Times best-selling Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen, Me, All Alone at the End of the World by M. T. Anderson, The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky, and Sidewalk Circus and Weslandia by Paul Fleischman. He is also the illustrator of Michelle Knudsen’s picture book Luigi, the Spider Who Wanted to Be a Kitten. He is also the acclaimed author-illustrator of both picture books and chapter books. Kevin Hawkes lives in Maine.