HOW MO WILLEMS MAKES US LAUGH

photo credit:  Marty Umans

Mo Willem's wildly popular picture books about pigeons, piggies, elephants and kunffle bunnies have kids laughing, and reading.  The books - with simple illustrations and word bubbles - are perfect as family read alouds and also as first readers for young learners.  Perhaps it's his past writing and animating for Sesame Street that make his short (sometimes only one-word) sentences fit so perfectly with his simple pictures.

Parents and kids alike will get the quick wit.  And new readers will feel the satisfaction of reading a whole book from start to finish by themselves.  I fondly witnessed this last week when I brought my friend's kids WE ARE IN A BOOK!

(I knew I had to get it into the hands of her middle child Jonah, who is a new reader, after I stood - laughing out loud - in the middle of the bookstore!)

and when another friend's daughter, Sophie, delighted in ELEPHANTS CANNOT DANCE!  all by herself.

The PIGEON books are just as hilarious...  

I was introduced to DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS

at a family camp during "Skit Night".  

THE PIGEON FINDS A HOTDOG

In fact, several of Mo's stories have been turned into plays and musicals!  I think the appeal of these books is the humorous, yet simple, way that Mo deals with kids' emotions and challenges (such as learning to share and not being jealous). That and his funny characters help his stories translate perfectly to the stage.

From "Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late" Musical

Mo's KNUFFLE BUNNY books are also adorable and endearing, with his simple illustrations and signature word bubbles, this time against a photographic background.  In the first story, KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY TALE,
a little toddler named Trixie accompanies her dad to the neighborhood laundromat and loses her stuffed bunny.  Panicking, she tries communicating this to him, as he unsuccessfully tries to interpret her "flabble-babbling" on their way back home...

Click HERE to read about KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL and watch a video interview with Mo Willems (at the end of the post).

And have fun perusing Mo Willem's website with your child.