Author Profile: Mo Willems

“Always think of your audience, never think for your audience.”

This week, we’re featuring an author who has been called a master of children’s literature: the brilliant, award-winning Mo Willems. Since receiving a Caldecott Medal Honor in 2004 for his now-classic picture book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Willems has written and illustrated over 40 books for children. 

 

His books are deceptively simple, as if any parent could have made them, but there is more than meets the eye behind the illustrations that Willems uses. They express the story clearly and allow the reader to focus more closely on the text. Instead of imitating life, he uses his illustrations to help create joy and magic in his stories.

Although his books appear to be written for a very young reader, he has said that he doesn’t write for a certain age because he wants to have as large an audience as possible. His clever humor and the way he writes about emotions like jealousy, sadness and joy make it easy for readers of any age to connect to his books, and parents especially will be able to relate. The tactics that the sly Pigeon uses to try to convince the reader to let him drive the bus, stay up late or get a puppy are strikingly familiar to anyone who has tried to bargain with a child.

The work of Willems could easily become a theme for a Read-Aloud. While his most famous picture book characters are Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny, he also created an extensive series of early readers focused around the relationship between Elephant and Piggie. These books can spark discussions about different situations and can help children learn to be more empathetic. There are also a number of craft and activity ideas to go along with these books that could be used at a Read-Aloud. 

At a recent Read-Aloud, a WMATA bus driver read Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! to the children. The Pigeon books lend themselves to interaction, as the Pigeon speaks directly to the reader and asks to drive the bus. He tries to persuade the reader by saying he'll be their best friend or even give them five dollars if they let him drive the bus. The kids love to shout out “NOOOO!” when asked if they would let the Pigeon drive the bus!

Regardless of age, any reader will enjoy the vast array books by Mo Willems.


This post was written by The Reading Connection's intern Margaret Fogarty.

To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here. 

Just the facts, please! Using nonfiction books in your Read-Aloud

Usually, when folks think about reading aloud to a child, they think of favorite story books:  Madeline, Where the Wild Things Are, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. In a word, fiction. But nonfiction is wildly popular with kids. It feeds their need to know why and how and who. It helps kids make connections between fictional situations and the real world.


Nonfiction opens up so many options not available if you stick only to fiction. A large part of a library's collection is devoted to nonfiction, including science, history, math, poetry, folklore and fairy tales, biography, how-to books and atlases and almanacs.  Ask your children’s librarian for nonfiction titles about your Read-Aloud topic and you’ll be amazed at what he or she pulls off the shelf.

Publishers have created some excellent nonfiction series. The Let’s Read and Find Out series has more than 190 titles in an accessible, illustrated picture-book format. Its Stage 1 titles are appropriate for preschool- and kindergarten-age children. Their Stage 2 titles are written for kids ages 5 to 9. The Scientists in the Field series combines stunning photographs with engaging text that explores both science and what it is like to be a scientist. This series is appropriate for the 8- to 12-year-old crowd. DK publishes oodles of nonfiction in picture-book and early-reader formats with glossy photos and short catchy text. Their DK Readers and Eyewitness books will have titles appropriate for all ages at your Read-Aloud.  Chances are, whatever topic you have in mind, DK has published a book about it. 

Some of our favorite nonfiction authors include Steve Jenkins, Gail Gibbons, Seymour Simon, David Macaulay and Russell Freedman. Their books are carefully researched, well written and beautifully illustrated.

The design of nonfiction books is likely to be more complex than fictional picture books. You'll even find nonfiction titles in graphic novel fomat--always a hit with the kids. Innovative design can make nonfiction books more engaging for kids, but it can also make them more challenging to read to a large group. If you choose a nonfiction title to read aloud with a large group, be sure to choose one that has a simple narrative format instead of a reference-book format. For reading in smaller groups or one-on-one, feel free to use a title with more text or a reference-book format. Depending on the design of the book, you might need to read it differently than you’d read a fictional picture book. For example: instead of reading the book from front to back, use the index and table of contents to jump around and answer kids’ pressing questions. PBS's Reading Rockets website provides great tips for reading nonfiction with kids in this article. 

Nonfiction can add so much to a Read-Aloud:  depth, variety and fun.  Try it, you'll like it!


To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.

Give-Away Book Cheat Sheet

Sometimes the kids at a Read-Aloud need your help to pick a great book to take home with them. If you're not regularly immersed in the world of kids' reading materials, you may need some help knowing how to help kids find books they'll like. Here's a primer to get you started.

Early Readers
These books are geared for kids who are getting their feet under them in reading on their own. Early readers are leveled, where level one is made up of very simple sentences and level four is basically a very short chapter book. They are almost always the same size, a tad larger than a normal novel, but very thin. Many titles are nonfiction or based on popular movies, such as Star Wars and Cars.

Graphic Novels 
Graphic novels are a great choice for "reluctant readers" who are intimidated by lots of words on a page. Graphic novels tell a story in comic book style. Among the graphic novel series that kids love these days are Babymouse (kids often consider it a series for girls), Lunch Lady (see below), Squish and Bone (more advanced).

Illustrated Chapter Books

• Geronimo (and Thea) Stilton books combine text, cartoon-like drawings and words in playful type.
• Diary of a Wimpy Kid books are written to look like a diary and they mix in stick-figure drawings along with the text. There are now lots of spin-offs that have text written in a similar manner.
• Books in the Captain Underpants series are a mix of graphic novel and fiction writing and are fast-paced and silly.

Popular Chapter Book Series

• Judy Moody & Stink: Judy is a fun-loving and energetic third-grader. She and her brother, Stink, have all sorts of adventures. 
• Junie B. Jones: She has a tendency to get into sticky situations in both kindergarten and first grade.
• Magic Tree House: Jack and Annie travel through time on their adventures, landing in a different time period in each story.
• Goosebumps: Scary stories, popular with 9- to 11-year-olds.
• American Girl: Girls who lived in various times throughout American history share their stories.

When helping a child pick a book, some key tips include the following:

• Browse the selection before the children start picking books so you know what is available. 
• Put out a variety of titles from each book type, displaying the covers. The aim is to give the kids choices, but not to overwhelm them.
• If a child isn't finding anything she wants to read, ask what kind of topics she likes (sports, animals, fairies, science, fantasy, etc.) and use that as your guide.
• Use the book cover as your guide about subject matter.
• Read the description on the back of the book.
• Flip through the book to gauge text size and line spacing.
• Listen to what the kids get excited about so you'll know what's popular.
• Write down titles they're searching for and contact the TRC office to see if those books can be obtained.

If a child gets excited about a book, let him have it, no matter the difficulty level. Even if it's at a more advanced level than you assume they can currently read, they'll get to it eventually. Kids might also feel a special attachment to a book or series they read at a younger stage in their lives.

If you're excited about the book options, the kids will follow your lead. Remember that if a child asks for a specific book, write down the book title and the child's name and contact the TRC office to see if we have it or can get it. For more tips on helping kids pick books check out this blog post from last year.


To receive credit for this online training, please fill out the form here.