Read Mo Willems Books!

Weekly Trip to the Library

Mo Willems is a genius author for preschool and elementary school-aged children. The number one New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. In addition to such picture books as Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct and Time to Pee!

Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When It Monsoons – The World on One Cartoon a Day, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.

We highly recommend nannies read Mo Willems books with their charges. Nannies should “ham it up” to encourage the kids to engage in reading his hilarious books. Here are a few of his books we recommend.

Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon! But you’ve never met one like this before. As he pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, children will love being able to answer back and decide his fate. In his hilarious picture book debut, popular cartoonist Mo Willems perfectly captures a preschooler’s temper tantrum.

Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
Trixie, Daddy, and Knuffle Bunny take a trip to the neighborhood Laundromat. But the exciting adventure takes a dramatic turn when Trixie realizes some bunny was left behind Using a combination of muted black-and-white photographs and expressive illustrations, this stunning book tells a brilliantly true-to-life tale about what happens when Daddy’s in charge and things go terribly, hilariously wrong.

Leonardo, the Terrible Monster
Leonardo is truly a terrible monster-terrible at being a monster that is. No matter how hard he tries, he can’t seem to frighten anyone. Determined to succeed, Leonardo sets himself to training and research. Finally, he finds a nervous little boy, and scares the tuna salad out of him! But scaring people isn’t quite as satisfying as he thought it would be. Leonardo realizes that he might be a terrible, awful monster-but he could be a really good friend.

Edwina, The Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct
Everyone in town knows Edwina. She is the dinosaur who plays with the kids. She is the dinosaur who helps little old ladies cross the street. And best of all, she bakes yummy chocolate-chip cookies. Everyone loves Edwina except for Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. Reginald knows dinosaurs are extinct and is ready to prove it. But will anyone listen? And if they do, what will happen to Edwina?

Time to Pee!
Toilet training has never been such an adventure as when it is introduced by popular cartoonist Mo Willems. With his signature humor, the author gently leads children through each step in the process that will finally bring them to their emancipation from diapers. Featuring a crew of funny mice holding up signs with the text, children will be amused and inspired by this hilarious picture book.

Can I Play Too? (An Elephant and Piggie Book)
Gerald is careful. Piggie is not. Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can. Gerald and Piggie are best friends. In Can I Play Too? Gerald and Piggie meet a new snake friend who wants to join in a game of catch. But don’t you need arms to catch?

Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
Toddlers don’t want to go to bed. Neither does the very stubborn pigeon who stars in this adorable picture book. Any reader who has ever bargained for “just one more video” before bedtime can identify with the sly hero of this funny interactive story.