What the Kids are Reading: A Tribute to Mo Willems

We parents are all in the know on this one, AMIRITE?  Mo freaking Willems is everything to the Kindergarten set, and I'm so excited that I'm back in the thick of early readers with my 5 year old daughter.  Of course we're reading lots of Elephant & Piggie, but her favorite is Cat the Cat, Who Is That?  (And, currently, Naked Mole Rat.)

They are the perfect confidence boosting earliest of reading books, with few words, simple sight words and lots of repetition.  Plus, in traditional Mo Willems' style, they are adorably funny.  

Both kids have been fans of his stories: the Pigeon Book Set has been handed down in our house - they hold The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! in highest esteem.  Pigeon books are hilarious read-alouds, and it's so fun to spot him in various other Willems' books.  Pigeon makes an appearance in the back of most Elephant and Piggie books, the aforementioned Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed (which is an automatic hit, because: NAKED), Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs and of course, the most celebrated of Willems books: Knuffle Bunny.

Yes, my daughter likes to draw Knuffle Bunny.  And in looking up titles for the links above, I'm realizing that there are even a few new to me titles, or ones I've been meaning to pick up: like The Story of Diva and Flea for my 8 year old and perhaps Hooray for Amanda & Her Alligator! for my daughter...

If you've got wee ones in the house and aren't already on the Mo Willems train, I highly suggest hopping aboard!  If you don't have kiddos, all these books go over SO WELL as gifts for the small people in your life.  Or even stuffed versions of the beloved characters.  Yes, my daughter is pining away for her own Knuffle Bunny, of course.