Absurdimals: Chester Learns to Swim by Gwendolyn Javor and Melissa Aker Spears
Published: Belephant, 2018
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With a swimming race quickly approaching, Chester the Absurdimal Dock (half dog, half duck) needs to overcome his fear of water. He tries everything he can think of to get more in touch with his duck side.
Not knowing what an Absurdimal was, Chester’s dual nature took me by surprise initially. The first several pages feature characters with a single origin and Chester has an obvious dog head, so it took me a hot minute to pick up on his duck body. Once I got it, Chester Learns to Swim became an allegory for mixed heritage. Sometimes kids don’t feel like they fully reflect their cultural background and Chester struggles with the way his drowning phobia contradicts his duck body.
Chester’s attempts to feel, look, and eat more like a duck, followed by his ultimate revelation, make a cute and relatable story. The illustrations are weaker than the narrative but they do support the action in a clear and readable fashion. I wasn’t ultimately clear on which characters are absurd combinations and which are just regular animals.
Chester Learns to Swim is a sweet story that addresses an interesting predicament.