Maxwell Newhouse,
The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew
Tundra Books, 2010

Rating: G*

Eleven children make up the Weber Street Work Crew. They each contribute to the success of their neighbourhood and are a part of community celebrations. Having each found a way to use their strengths and talents, Weber Street looks beautiful and the people living there are happy.

Illustrated with oil on canvas in a folk art style, the illustrations show children of all ages and different ethnic backgrounds volunteering in various spots around the neighbourhood: Sylvia is shown watering plants in Mr. Flannigan’s front yard, Max is busy walking four dogs down the sidewalk, and Ava is busy inside Mrs. Cline’s house teaching her about the internet. With Amy and Rosie looking after recycling and Ross and Rob picking up mail and newspapers for vacationing neighbors, the sidewalks of Weber Street are kept garbage free and clean. Bird’s-eye views of Weber Street give readers a sense of how this neighbourhood works and plays. At the beginning of the book, the neighbourhood looks peaceful as the children start their day outside in the sun, but by the end of the book, the neighbourhood is lively as everyone gathers in the street for a Weber Street block sale and barbecue.

The Weber Street Wonder Work Crew sends an encouraging and positive message to children about the value of working together to create a safe and happy community. They will see that even the smallest of deeds can be beneficial to others.

Maxwell Newhouse’s illustrations can be seen on the free poster on the reverse of this book jacket, and in the books Laura Secord: A Story of Courage, Emily Carr: At the Edge of the World and in two of the books he wrote, The RCMP Musical Ride and The House that Max Built. When he is not writing or painting, Newhousel turns driftwood into beautiful pieces of furniture. He lives in British Columbia.

Thematic Links: Volunteering; Neighbourhood; Values; Community

Tanya Boudreau
Vol. 15, number 3
February 2010

*Rating System:
E - Excellent, enduring, everyone should see it!
G - Good, even great at times, generally useful!
A - Average, all right, has its applications.
P - Problematic, puzzling, poorly presented.