Willy the Wimp

“Willy the Wimp” is a great story about how changing your appearance doesn’t change the person you are. This is illustrated through the illustrations and character development. The illustrations show that the transformation of Willy’s body. It shows him as a small character with no stature to a big muscle monkey. The illustrations are done in a colorful way. Also all of the framing of the illustrations are done in a way that emphasizes the text. For instance the ad the Willy finds in the paper is in a small frame with ridges to make it look like it was pulled out of the paper. Also the character development of Willy starts of as a small wimpy character that is bullied but by the end he is a strong character that is no longer show more bullied but is loved by girls. Yet he still has the same mentality as the wimpy kid who wouldn’t hurt a fly and would say sorry even when it wasn’t his fault. show less

I will admit I don't get this. I'm sufficiently familiar with Browne to know that there's a level of meaning, symbolism, irony, something... it's *not* just a funny story - the weird ending is communicating something odd. Until I figure that out I cannot in good faith recommend this to anyone, especially to children.

Willy the Wimp is a hilarious yet touching story that will satisfy readers of all ages. At the heart of the story is the adorable Willy, a young chimp with a self-esteem problem. He decides to answer a "muscleman" ad in order to change his body, and in the process discovers his own inner strength. The book's illustrations are really fantastic (imagine bodybuilding gorillas). They support the text, complimenting the language and style of the story (as well as providing many laughs). This makes Willy the Wimp a perfect choice for young beginning readers as well as developing readers...and for the bedtime storyteller!

A large part of my author study was focused around Willy the Wimp. I love this book. Anthony Browne has consistently done a great job of teaching young readers life-lessons using whimsical characters and stories. My favorite part of the book are the illustrations - I love Browne's style. This book will certainly be a part of my future classroom collection because it is a fun, easy read that communicates important lessons.

This book is about a little monkey who is every sweet to everyone , and would not hurt a fly. He was always getting beat up by bullies, and was given the nickname willy the wimp. He started to workout and got a ton bigger, and no one picked on him anymore. He resuced a female monkey, and life was good. He still would not hurt a fly though. I liked this book for children because it shows how to change things they are unhappy with.

A very mixed message! There must be better books out there to approach this theme. But the last page is funny!

This book is about a monkey who is nice to everyone. Everyone walks all over him. He is constantly getting beat up by bullies which is how he got the name Willie the Wimp. He decided to start working out and get bigger so no one would pick on him. He rescued a girl monkey and everyone loves him and no one picks on him anymore. I would have this in my classroom library. It shows children how they can sometimes do little things to make themselves feel better.