Misadventures of the Monster Librarian

We are always super pumped when a new Mo Willems book comes out, especially when it's that silly, funny duo, Gerald (Elephant) & Piggie. Willem's newest book, due out June 3rd, arrived at Sticks Library today, taken from the box by a very excited Prairie Dawn, who exclaimed, "ELEPHANT & PIGGIE ARE HERE!!" (She's pretty enthusiastic about most things--one of the things I love about working with her!) My New Friend is So Fun! is a story about friendship, both new and old, but also in wonderfully illustrated, simply and lovely laid out Mo Willems style, covers that feeling we get when our dearest friends hang out with someone new that's so fun, so so fun! That little voice in your head that makes you wonder if you're replaceable and maybe not as so fun, so so fun ! maybe not even best friends anymore...but also in Willems style there is sweetness and a lovely ending. I won't say more, because let's be honest, Willems' books are as much...

Every time I hear that a Mo Willems book is coming out I get super excited, I think even more than the kids. And lovers of Mo Willems won't be disappointed with his latest, That is Not a Good Idea! Kids will love this interactive, funny book, which starts out like a traditional fairy tale, but ends a fractured tale with a Mo Willems-worthy surprise ending that made me smile (and I needed that this morning!) The artwork is all Willems--see if you can find one of his signature marks: the Pigeon (of the Pigeon series) hidden in the book. Great book for a young reader, not only because of its' repetition of certain words, but also because there are short sentences that can be easily digested. I LOVED IT!

Kids LOVE Mo Willems books. I LOVE Mo Willems books! We just love Mo Willems around here, whether it's his Piggie & Elephant series; Knufflebunny trio; or his popular Don't Let the Pigeon. .. series. Willems just gets it. He gets how to write to kids and really make them laugh. And his books make you, the reader, feel clever, like you're in on the joke too. This week, tired from Dr. Seuss overload, I switched to Mo Willems, doing: Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct Knufflebunny Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus with my storytime groups here at the library and during my Headstart visit. My Headstart kids and I turned our hand prints into Pigeon. Simple art project: Print a template of a bus (I literally googled, "Bus Template") Ask the kids to draw some people in the bus windows Ask them to draw the head and neck of the Pigeon peeking out the front (bus driver seat) window. I gave each table c...

Mo Willems is one of my go-to authors for easy readers (i.e. the Piggy and Elephant Series); Knuffle Bunny is one of those silly stories I share with my pre-K/Kindergarten kiddos (btw, the mix of drawing with photos, GENIUS!); kids of every age love yelling at the pigeon in the Don't Let the Pigeon... series. I LOVE Mo Willems. I love his characters and his sense of humor. I love that his stories make ME laugh outloud. I had such high hopes for Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs ... I was  NOT disappointed.  The inside cover art Willems retelling is hysterical. I laughed outloud. I may have snorted...a little. He rethinks everything from changing the bears to dinosaurs, to the porridge, to the surprise ending; also appreciated is the final pages where Willems gives us AND the dinosaurs a moral of the story. I love the art work: the "poorly supervised little girl named Goldilocks," looks very much like an older Trixie ( Knuffle Bunny Free) ; the dinosaur Da...