Book #8 - A Weekend with Wendell

"On Friday afternoon Wendell's parents dropped him off at Sophie's house."

Title: A Weekend with Wendell

Author: Kevin Henkes

Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Publisher: Greenwillow

Date of Publication: 1986

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: 510L

Summary: 

Wendell is quite a troublemaker. He comes to stay with Sophie and her family for a weekend and after a short while with him everyone can’t wait for him to leave. Wendell steals Sophie’s whip cream off her sundae, leaves her crayons on the porch so they would melt, tries to scare Sophie on numerous occasions and always gets to make the rules when they played house, doctor, and bakery. Sophie has had enough and decides that it is her turn to make the rules. They play fire fighter and she gets to be the fire chief.  She sprays and sprays Wendell with the hose until soon enough they didn’t care who the fire chief was. They were having too much fun playing together. Wendell leaves shortly after but now Sophie’s wishes he could stay longer. This story would be most interesting for kindergarten through second grade students but I think it could be used with older children because it is relatable.

Evaluation:

This story is good because it teaches children about friendship and about getting along with others. The characters in this book are so similar to some children that I have met. Some are shy and have a difficult time standing up for themselves like Sophie and others are bold and maybe a little annoying like Wendell. The way in which these characters speak is authentic to their character and the plot of the story. 

The setting, like Henkes other books sometimes is forgotten because his books usually include home, school, and an outdoor space the characters play in. Time is a big part of this story because once Wendell arrives, Sophie can't wait for him to leave. Each day that Wendell is there, Sophie is getting more and more fed up with his tricks. By the end of the weekend Sophie teaches him a lesson that he won't soon forget. By the end of the story Sophie and Wendell are friends and they want to meet another weekend. 

The characters in this book are non-stereotypical, offensive, or degrading in any way. They are fun and easy to relate to.

Literary Elements:

1. Theme: Like Chester's Way, this story's theme is all about friendship and finding friends in the most unlikely situations. Wendell and Sophie do not get along at the beginning of the story but by the end they can't wait to see each other again. 
2. Alliteration: The title of this book is a great example of alliteration. There isn't any other examples within the book but this book could still be used to introduce or reinforce that literary element. 
3. Conflict: Conflict is a large part of this story. Wendell and Sophie can't stand each other at the beginning of this story. Wendell plays lots of tricks on Sophie and isn't very nice to her. Sophie eventually repays Wendell a trick of her own. There is tension between these two characters which eventually breaks and they become best friends. 

 

Illustrations: 

The illustrations are really fun in this book because they help to show the kinds of tricks and unfair things Wendell does to Sophie. The author shows the character's emotions right on their faces in the illustrations. For example, when Wendell first arrives, you can see the worry on her face or when Wendell and Sophie are playing house and Sophie has to be the dog, you can see the sadness and boredom on her face. The pictures also show the transition from shy Sophie" to "its time to pay back Wendel" Sophie. 

Mini-Lesson Ideas: 

I would use this book to teach conflict because it is easy to see the tension between the two main characters. Students could read through the book on their own and decide at which sections, Sophie and Wendell are not getting along. Then, with guidance, they can begin to write their own "Sophie and Wendell" story. It would be important to teach conflict resolution as well.