Author Spotlight: MO WILLEMS

I’ve been a big Mo Willems fan since well before I ever heard his name.

Watching “Sesame Street” in the late 90s with my son, we’d laugh at the “Suzy Kabloozy” cartoons, so hilariously voiced by Ruth Buzzi. Willems (Suzy’s creator) was a writer on the program at the time—an Emmy-award-winning writer. He went on to create still more TV cartoons before leaving the field to pursue his career as an author.

This year, Mo Willems won another honor: the American Library Association’s Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for “most distinguished American book for beginning readers.” The medal honors “There is a Bird on Your Head,” a new entry in Willems’ “Elephant and Piggie” series, a hilarious line about two very good friends.

The Elephant & Piggie stories are indeed great beginning reader books, as they contain simple, large text, repeated ideas, and very appealing cartoony illustrations. The books are also fun read-alouds, giving parents and teachers the opportunity have a great time giving voice to these two silly characters! What’s more, free teachers’ guides are available online, with discussion questions, extension ideas & activity sheets, at http://www.pigeonpresents.com.

I hope you already know that pigeon from that URL—he’s the star of the Caldecott Honor-winning book “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus,” the first of a growing number of comic Pigeon adventures, and certainly another home & classroom must-read! Read the books together, create voices, and let the children talk back to the books—they’ll love it.

While you’re looking up Mo Willems’ books at your library, don’t forget to pick up the “Knuffle Bunny” books, “Leonardo the Terrible Monster,” “Time to Say ‘Please,’” and whatever else you can find. You’ll have as much fun reading them as the kids will have listening—and that’s why I present them here. Happy Reading!

Author Spotlight: Margie Palatini

Here’s an author for you to look up on your next library visit—in fact, click on the library website right now & have them put a few of her books aside for you!

Margie Palatini has been making readers laugh for years now, with picture books loaded cover-to-cover with humor designed to appeal to adults as much as their kids—just like I like it! Zoom Broom, for instance, has a long riff on the classic Abbot & Costello “Who’s on First” routine (parents, if you don’t get the reference, hand the book to Grandma & head immediately to YouTube). The Web Files deserves a deadpan, “Dragnet”-style delivery. Classic characters get new twists, everyday situations spin out of control, and silly wordplay is the norm!

By the time you’ve taken home several library copies of Palatini’s books, I’m sure your family will have found some real keepers. To add something extra to your experience of the stories, download the activities and study guides at www.margiepalatini.com.