Hooway for Wodney Wat

Lester, H. (1999). Hooway for wodney wat. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Poor Rodney is a rat, a simple rodent, who cannot pronounce his “r”’s so he gets teased and called Wodney Wat. Other kids at school make fun of him and trick him into saying things. They ask him questions like, “What’s another for a bunny?” and Wodney sadly replies, “A wabbit”. Wodney becomes the most quiet, shy rat in school. One day, a new and large rodent, Camilla Capybara joins the classroom. She is bigger, meaner and smarter than all the other rodents she claims. All day long she proves she is smarter than everyone in a very obnoxious way. When it is time for recess, Miss Fuzzleworth, their teacher, pulls out a name to be the leader of Simon Says. And who does she pull out to lead? None other than Wodney Wat himself! Wodney fears all the mean things that Camilla may do to him! When they begin the game, Wodney squeaks out quietly his first direction while hiding in his jacket, “Wodney says weed the sign”. While the other rodents, who are aware of Wodney’s speech impairment, read the sign in front of them, Camilla begins to pull the weeds around the sign! As the other rodents begin to laugh at Camilla, Wodney’s confidence begins to grow! As he continues to give the class instructions, like “Wake the leaves”, the other children do what Wodney “says” and rake the leaves, while Camilla takes it literally and begins shouting at the leaves to wake up! Wodney emerges from his jacket and his voice grows stronger every time as his fear of Camilla diminishes. The rest of the rodents are just tickled by what Camilla is doing and she grows frustrated as the game continues. And finally, in a loud voice so stronger he had to cover his own ears, Wodney gives the class one final direction.

To find out what happens to Wodney, Camilla and the rest of the rodents of P.S. 142 Elementary School, read the book Hooway for Wodney Wat. 

This is an excellent fantasy book to use with all ages. This picture book has some very intriguing illustrations that help to tell the story along with the words. The illustrations are done cartoon style, with most likely oil paints or watercolors. They are in bright colors that would appeal to children! The illustrator, who is Lynn Munsinger, has paid close attention to the details in the story to convey the plot and describe the characters. Wodney is this shy quiet rat, so in the illustrations is shown with his head under his desk when his teacher is talking to him or with his jacket over his head on the playground sitting alone. Throughout the day in the classroom when Camilla arrives, they show Wodney in every situation completely hiding in his jacket: you can tell by just looking at the pictures that he is completely terrified of Camilla. Also, later, as they play Simon Says, the illustrations show Wodney’s confidence grow as he emerges from under his jacket and a smile begins to show on his face!

This book could be used with all elementary aged children (K-5) in any setting.

This would be a great story to show elements of fantasy because in every illustration and throughout the story personification is present. The rodents are in school, talking, playing at recess and wearing clothes: they act just like the kids in a classroom would act! One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Camilla is shouting answers across the room to prove she is smarter and all the “students” and the “teacher” just look shocked and appalled at this rodent who has barged into their classroom and taken over. The looks on their faces are priceless and the illustrator really conveyed their emotions on the pages. 

Another great use for this book would be for bullying. Kids reading this book would feel bad for Wodney and then get extremely excited when he saves the day! This would be an excellent read to show kids that even though some people may be a little different or have a speech impairment, or look differently, that doesn’t mean that they should be treated differently or teased. They, maybe one day, will be the hero! Helen Lester takes the tricky subject and often difficult to discuss with children about how people are different and adds humor and laughter to it, while also making it relatable to children. 

These are some of the BIG questions I would use while discussing this story: How do you think Wodney felt knowing he couldn’t pronounce his “r”’s? How might the other rodents have treated Wodney in a different way? Why do you think Camilla acted the way she acted? What do you think happened to Camilla? Do you think she learned her lesson?  Talk about a time that you felt like Wodney: what did you do?