Tag Mo Willems

Elephants Cannot Dance! / Pigs Make Me Sneeze!

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Elephants Cannot Dance!
Pigs Make Me Sneeze!
Mo Willems
Walker Books

Time after time, Mo Willems does it with these hugely funny episodes in the lives of best friends Gerald and Piggie, delivered entirely in hilarious dialogue and through the priceless drawings.

In Elephants Cannot Dance! Piggie announces that she’s teaching all her friends to dance and that includes Gerald. However despite, so he says, that he’d love to learn to dance, Gerald knows that it’s impossible; moreover he has proof. It says so in ‘What Elephants Can Do’ – on page eleven to be precise, which just happens to be the same page number as that particular bit of dialogue. Piggie isn’t having any of that, responding by telling Piggie that the book does NOT say he cannot try so to do. And try is what Gerald does, but his timing and coordination leave a lot to be desired 

as he appears to be doing the opposite of what Piggie instructs. 

Eventually a frustrated Gerald decides he’s had enough; point proved ‘elephants just cannot dance’. Maybe they can teach though …

Good on Piggie who never gives up trying to teach Gerald to dance.

What they both do effortlessly is put across the crucial ‘reading is fun’ message to children learning to read.

Pigs Make Me Sneeze! thinks pachyderm Gerald who just cannot stop sneezing and does so all over Piggie. That is a nuisance just when the two were about to play together, but much worse is the possibility that, so Gerald thinks, he is allergic to pigs and we all know what that means: he can’t go near his bestie.

Off goes Gerald to consult Dr Cat. However during the examination it becomes evident that the pachyderm isn’t suffering from an allergy. His diagnosis is one that demonstrates how best friends share everything and it makes Gerald feel a whole lot better; let’s hope Piggie soon feels better too. 

The expressions on the faces of Gerald and Piggie in this are just wonderful. With its subtle message about not jumping to hasty conclusions, this will delight learner readers and those who listen to the stories.

We Are in a Book! / Can I Play Too?

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We Are in a Book!
Can I Play Too?
Mo Willems
Walker Books

If you’re looking for a book for new solo readers then these two are spot on. I have to admit to being a big Elephant and Piggie enthusiast already however.

We Are in a Book! plays the metafictive card from the moment Elephant suggests to his best pal, ‘I think someone is looking at us.’ Gerald’s concern that it might be a monster is quickly set aside by Piggie’s. “No. It is… / a reader! / A reader is reading us!” Going on to respond to Elephant’s immediate question, by dangling over a speech bubble to demonstrate. Their exuberant enthusiasm is soon followed by a practical joke as Piggie works out how to manipulate the reader

not just once but twice, which the two find utterly hilarious. However Piggie’s mention of the book’s ending sends Elephant into a tizzy and a little bit more reader manipulation occurs – over to you, reader …

Brilliant, cleverly paced and absolutely bananas.

Also hysterical is Can I Play Too? Herein, no sooner have Gerald and Piggie decided to play catch, when Snake slithers up asking to play too. The two are a tad doubtful wondering how an armless reptile can possibly play this game. Snake however is determined to give it a go and the game becomes let’s say, a bit bonkers. They keep trying, adding a lot more balls

but this idea doesn’t work. Surely there must be a way to make this game work for all three of them. Then comes a lightbulb moment for Piggie …

Perfect pacing as always, wonderfully wry humour – ditto, full of heart – tick! and a gentle lesson on inclusivity thrown in.

The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!

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The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!
Mo Willems
Walker Books

At last the time has come; our favourite picture book Pigeon is to start school, despite the fact that he’s adamant that he’s not going. “I already know EVERYTHING!” he insists immediately shooting himself in the foot by inviting readers to ‘… ask me a question. Any question!’

From there however he starts revealing his real anxieties: he’s not good first thing in the morning; supposing he doesn’t like it and worse – supposing the teacher doesn’t like pigeons. One by one these worries emerge from beneath that feathery bluster. There’s sooooooooooo much stuff to learn – too much and his head and body might part company.

We’re treated to an eight-part tirade of terrifying possibilities – ‘Will FINGER PAINT stick to my feathers? … What’s up with those heavy BACKPACKS? I’m a fragile bird.’ By now our little Pigeon is a jittering wreck.

But then, after a further rant …

comes a light bulb moment … followed by the very best of all Pigeon possibilities that answers his question, ‘Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!”

It’s a truly wonderful finale, perfectly delivered Mo Willems style; and I’m sure all the Pigeon fans out there will be on the edges of their seats as they anticipate what is about to show up next – whey hey! …

Presented almost entirely through speech bubbles, Pigeon’s monologue is simply brilliant and the way in which Willems zooms in and out on his protagonist both orchestrates the action and highlights the emotional turmoil.

I’ve totally loved all of the Pigeon books but perhaps this is my favourite so far.

Share with those about to start school as well as those already experienced in the mysteries of the classroom.

Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals

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Welcome: A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals
Mo Willems
Walker Books

‘This is a board book, no make that a book, like no other – A Mo Willems Guide for New Arrivals’: this hilarious offering is probably best suited for new parents, despite the fact that the narrator appears to be speaking directly ’THANK YOU FOR JOINING US’ … ’PLEASE ENJOY YOUR STAY’ to a new babe, in the manner of a travel brochure or similar.

It goes on to detail a short list of activities to enjoy such as ‘SLEEPING and WAKING, EATING and BURPING, POOPING and MORE POOPING’ as well as forthcoming highlights: MUSIC, CATS and STORIES – hurrah for that one. – that the infant will encounter in its early life.

Not everything is a bed of roses naturally, but the voice is again reassuring with Willems’ arch humour shining through in its ‘WE REGRET TO INFORM YOU’, that goes on to mention unkindness, fighting, wastefulness and soggy toast and ICE CREAM DISASTERS. This list is countered with upbeat intentions of happy tears, warm embraces and sharing of ice creams.

I’ve no idea what babes, even a couple of years on, would make of the LOG-IN CODE spread, one of the few that doesn’t have road sign like pictograms.
But, they’ll certainly benefit both emotionally and linguistically from the shared reading underlined with the ‘while we read this book together’ refrain; and enjoy particularly the shiny mirror on the inside front cover.

Superbly executed and sturdily built to stand up to those all-important shared readings, this is affirming, thought-provoking, and meta humour notwithstanding, overarched by love.

Next time somebody I know has a baby, this is the book I’ll be buying them.

Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World

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Sam, the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the World
Mo Willems
Walker Books

It’s over a decade since we first met Mo Willems’ Leonardo the Terrible Monster along with Sam, the boy who is terrified of everything other than Leo. Now they’re back with Sam, (just as scared as before), being in the limelight until he encounters these two .

Seemingly Sam has a rival in Kerry, for immediately both humans, terrified of one another, start screaming uncontrollably.
Irked by their behaviour, the monsters decide to leave the children to ‘Figure it out’ and wander off the page together.
Having explored their similarities …

and differences, the humans eventually do just that and they too come to a decision, a wise and slightly mischievous one. And the two monsters are certainly in for something of a surprise when they return.

If you’re familiar with the first Sam and Leonardo story, then you’ll love this as a companion volume; if not it stands alone as a wonderfully funny account of forging a new and unlikely friendship.
Willems’ sombre colour palette, stand-out capitalised fonts and comic-style characters serve as well here as they did before, making this another monstrous winner for the USA’s master of drollery.

I’ve signed the charter  

Nanette’s Baguette

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Nanette’s Baguette
Mo Willems
Walker Books
How many words can you think of that rhyme with baguette? Probably not all that many, but the amazing Mo Willems manages to construct a whole story using them and its one that’s enormous fun to read aloud.
Who can resist a chunk of freshly baked bread? Certainly not young Nanette but that’s getting ahead of the story. Nanette is sent on a shopping errand to fetch the family’s baguette: ‘getting to get the baguette is Nanette’s biggest responsibility yet.’ No pressure there then, and she’s certainly all set.

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En route the young frog, (frogs and the allusion Français may go over the heads of many listeners but will be appreciated by adult mediators of the tale) encounters a number of distractions; there’s Georgette, Suzette and with his clarinet, is Bret; and there’s Mr Barnett with pet Antoinette …

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But eager to fulfil her mission, Nanette presses on and duly arrives at her destination where she is served by Baker Juliette, with the very best baguette.

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What a deliciously alluring aroma emanates from said baguette – a pretty large one after all’s said and done. Then KRACK! That’s Nanette sampling her wonderful, warm purchase. Naturally – well wouldn’t you – Nanette takes bite after bite until, disaster: no more baguette!
A jet to Tibet – would that save her from Mum’s wrath? But no; she decides to return home and face the consequences of her actions.
There follows a wonderful twist – seemingly it’s not only Nanette who finds baguettes totally irresistible.
Willems places his characters in a cleverly constructed diorama shown on the title page …

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and Nanette’s antics are, oh so expressively portrayed, in brightly coloured vignettes, the whole thing being orchestrated by the variety of fonts used.
Extra servings are sure to be the order of the day when this is presented to young audiences – it certainly was with several of mine. In a word, a KRACKER!

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I Broke My Trunk / Let’s Go for a Drive

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I Broke My Trunk!
Mo Willems
Walker Books
I love Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggie stories; they’re ideal for beginning readers and totally crazy. In the first one poor Gerald has a damaged trunk and just when Piggie is wondering why his friend hasn’t put in an appearance, along comes Gerald looking just a tad sorry for himself. “What happened to your trunk?” asks Piggie and thus begins a protracted and rather convoluted tale of misadventure and madness. Imagine trying to balance a hippo on your trunk; that’s what Gerald did, and a rhino, followed by Hippo’s big sis who just happens to have a piano with her.


Well of course Gerald’s trunk would break under all that weight wouldn’t it? Actually no; there’s more to this bonkers story because Gerald’s trunk managed to stand up to all that mis-use; but then in classic Willems/ Gerald fashion comes the embarrassing part …

and a final whoops:

let’s leave Piggie to have the last word – or rather words.
Hilarious nonsense, but utterly irresistible and delivered all in dialogue and through Mo’s minimalist chucklesome pictures. Make sure you peruse the final endpapers – seemingly Piggie has found another old friend to share his tale with.
More delicious Gerald and Piggie nonsense in
Let’s Go For a Drive
Mo Willems
Walker Books
“Let’s go for a drive!” suggests Gerald; “That sounds fun!” agrees Piggie. “Drive! Drive! Drivey-drive-drive!” they shout together gleefully. Gerald then announces the need for a map – he’s just a little bit of a fusspot (a pedant) and continues listing a whole lot more items crucial for the enterprise while poor Piggie dashes around collecting sunglasses, umbrellas, bags, …

“We have so much to pack,” interjects Gerald; but that’s not all … “There will be a lot of driving on our drive,” he continues. Really? Haven’t they forgotten about one fundamental item for this drive.

What should they do now? Luckily for Gerald, PIggie has an answer and, a plan.
Another winner in this early reading series –young readers don’t need a plan either – all they need is right there in this satisfying little book.

A Pair of Picture Book Gems

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That Is NOT a Good Idea!
Mo Willems
Walker Books
Mo Willems is just brilliant and this book definitely is A GOOD IDEA!
The members of cast in this high drama are Hungry Fox, a very dapper looking chap sporting brown suit and matching top hat, tie and waistcoat, black shoes and spats, Plump Goose with shopping basket and headscarf and half a dozen yellow baby geese. Of course, everyone knows that foxes like nothing better to eat than plump geese and true to form, this one invites Goose for a stroll leading her through town, into the dark wood, and on to his nearby kitchen and to boil some water for soup. As Goose agrees to each invitation, the yellow goslings warn, “That is NOT a good idea” adding more and more emphasis as the journey proceeds. When Hungry Fox asks his visitor, “Would you care to look at my soup? A key ingredient is missing. “ The goslings’ warning is a frantic,
“That is REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, REALLY NOT a good idea!” And so it proves, but for which of the characters? Suffice it to say, this goose is anything but cooked and it’s she and the six goslings that sit down for supper.
The silent movie presentation is pure genius. At each stage Fox and Goose are shown hamming up their parts with their words displayed on the subsequent decorated blackboard-filled pages; the chorus of warnings from the goslings that follow the captions echoing the audiences reaction as the tension mounts.

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There will be encores aplenty for this one I have no doubt.
Buy from Amazon

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Peck Peck Peck
Lucy Cousins
Walker Books
This book has more holes than The Very Hungry Caterpillar; in fact it is absolutely riddled with holes thanks to its young woodpecker narrator. Excited by his initial success on the tree trunk and eager to follow his father’s instructions, to “Practise hard and have some fun.” said little bird not only pecks at the gate and front door of a house but hones his skills on pretty much everything else inside – clothes, toys, furniture, furnishings, books, the soap and shampoo – even the loo and that’s before he starts on the food. Having pecked his way through everything in sight, the young learner is, unsurprisingly, more than a little tired, so it’s back to the nest to report to his waiting dad and then off to bed, full of the joys of pecking. Such a blissful finale too.

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This rhyming, ‘holesome’ tale of household havoc simply bounces along and has Lucy Cousins’ trademark bright coloured pages and images and a hand lettered text.
Definitely destined to be right at the top of the pecking order when it comes to story time sessions at home, in nurseries, schools and libraries, I shall enjoy sharing this one on many occasions.
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