Chester van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme

From the coauthor of the smash hit All My Friends Are Dead and the creator of the beloved Dory Fantasmagory chapter book series comes a hilarious read aloud about a boy who loses his gift for rhyme.

There once was a youngster named Chester van Chime

Who woke up one day and forgot how to rhyme.

Chester loved rhyming, in poem or song.

It always felt right, but today it felt...not right. VERY not right.


Chester van Chime is usually the BEST at rhyming. He can normally tell you all about cats wearing hats and snails delivering mail, but today, something has changed. Today there's no dog on a log. No duck in a truck. Just a Pomeranian on a sideways tree and a waterfowl in a full-size pickup. What's a kid to do?!

Filled with irresistible wordplay and whimsically silly illustrations, bestselling creators Avery Monsen and Abby Hanlon's read aloud tells the story of a boy who learns not to be stressed if he's not at his...tippy-top peak performance.

Praise for Chester van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme:
 
*"Your next Best Storytime Book…It’s a must-read, a hit, a guaranteed good time…Poor Chester van Chime may have lost the ability to rhyme, but young readers will lose themselves to giggles…”―Bookpage, starred review

*"His rhyming groove returns as aural fits and starts turn to fluid, welcome rhyme, and the whole town celebrates. What starts out as a book about wordplay turns into an inventive and giggly antidote for the bad-day blues."―Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Monsen’s clever text offers both lexical fun and an important lesson: “This too shall pass.”…Hanlon’s busy gouache and colored pencil illustrations are full of attention-grabbing slapstick humor…Well-timed page turns will have kids shouting out the missing, but easily guessable, end rhymes…Get ready for wordplay that’s giggly and fun and lasts long after the story is [over]."―Kirkus

“Hilarity crescendos as wordplay plummets, until Chester realizes we all have bad days.”―The New York Times

An Amazon Best Books of the Month for March 2022

A Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award Recipient 2022-2023

An Amazon Best Books of the Year So Far for Ages 3-5 for 2022 

K-Gr 3—Chester van Chime has always been an expert rhymer and lover of words. One day, though, he wakes up and forgets how to rhyme! Chester has trouble getting himself ready for the day but becomes even more distressed at school. When he arrives, his classmates all try to help remedy his rhyming woes, but to no avail. During his walk back home, Chester learns to see the people and world around him in a new way. While doing so, will he remember how to rhyme? This colorful picture book has many elements that primary school children will enjoy. The watercolor pictures depict Chester in all of his disoriented glory throughout the day, e.g., he can barely get himself dressed! This is an ideal interactive read-aloud in an elementary setting as students will want to help complete the sentence with the correct rhyming word. VERDICT With a positive message at the end—"We all have bad days"—the story of Chester is one readers will appreciate; he's a relatable, funny character they will want to see again.—Kerra Mazzariello

Praise for Chester van Chime Who Forgot How to Rhyme:
 

*"Your next Best Storytime Book…It’s a must-read, a hit, a guaranteed good time…Poor Chester van Chime may have lost the ability to rhyme, but young readers will lose themselves to giggles…”―Bookpage, starred review

*"His rhyming groove returns as aural fits and starts turn to fluid, welcome rhyme, and the whole town celebrates. What starts out as a book about wordplay turns into an inventive and giggly antidote for the bad-day blues."―Publisher's Weekly, starred review

"Monsen’s clever text offers both lexical fun and an important lesson: “This too shall pass.”…Hanlon’s busy gouache and colored pencil illustrations are full of attention-grabbing slapstick humor…Well-timed page turns will have kids shouting out the missing, but easily guessable, end rhymes…Get ready for wordplay that’s giggly and fun and lasts long after the story is [over]."
 ―Kirkus

“This colorful picture book has many elements that primary school children will enjoy…This is an ideal interactive read-aloud in an elementary setting.” ―School Library Journal

“Hilarity crescendos as wordplay plummets, until Chester realizes we all have bad days.”―The New York Times

An Amazon Best Books of the Month for March 2022

A Florida Sunshine State Young Readers Award recipient 2022-2023

An Amazon Best Books of the Year So Far for Ages 3-5 for 2022 

An Indiana Primary Read Aloud pick for 2023

A Smithsonian Magazine Ten Best Children's Books of 2022

A Redbud Read-Aloud Award winner

A Texas Library Association 2x2 Award winner

Avery Monsen is the author and illustrator of I Am the Longest Dog, and the coauthor I Feel Relatively Neutral About New York, K is for Knifeball, and the national bestseller All My Friends Are Dead. As an actor he has appeared on 30 Rock, The Tonight Show, High Maintenance, Maron, Adam Ruins Everything, and Alexa & Katie.

Abby Hanlon is the author and illustrator of the award-winning Dory Fantasmagory chapter book series, which has been translated into twenty-one languages and selected by the Junior Library Guild. As a New York City public school teacher, she wrote and illustrated her debut picture book, Ralph Tells a Story, which is now used widely in elementary classrooms. Abby lives in Brooklyn with her husband, twins, and scruffy dog, Caroline.