The Best Summer Project Ever.

Have you ever wanted to run away from your town and just create a brand new world only for you?

Weslandia is just the story for you then!  Written by Paul Flesichman and illustrated by Kevin Hawkes, this book is one of the most creative ones I've ever read.  Wes is a child unlike the rest at his school and has very few friends.  His parents are concerned that he isn't "normal," but when school gets out for the summer, Wes has his own plans!

He decides he is going to build his own civilization, starting with a staple food crop.  These beautiful red flowers sprout in his backyard over night and Weslandia has begun! At first he just finds ways to use the flowers as a food source, but quickly learns that he can use the stalks to create clothes and a sundial to tell time.  

Because there are eight petals on every flower in his giant garden, Wes decides to create a new counting system based off of the number eight.  By the end of the summer he even creates a whole new language with an 80 letter alphabet.  

The neighborhood kids and the kids from school notice his civilization coming to life over the summer and become increasingly curious.  Wes allows them to help out in different ways, such as using his mortal and pestle to squish the flowers' fruit into a mosquito repellant and participating in his own sport.  

By the time school starts again Wes has no shortage of friends!  You can hear a reading of Weslandia and enjoy the magic of a new civilization coming to life here.  A perfect book for anyone with a powerful imagination!

If you were to create your own "Weslandia" what would your civilization look like?