I remember when Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus was first released. I was still in college and my favorite professor in my favorite class – How to Teach Reading with Children’s Literature, of course – read it aloud for our class. That weekend I bought a copy and brought it in to share with the preschool class where I was student teaching.
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It was pretty obvious from the start that Willems was a children’s book genius.
His pigeon books have since grown into a series and beyond. You can even fall asleep cuddling a pigeon stuffed animal. (You can also fall asleep with your own Knuffle Bunny, but that’s getting ahead of myself).
From there, Willems quickly became a children’s book legend. Knuffle Bunny came next – again I remember the first one – and it was just as spectacularly special. To this day Knuffle Bunny is my favorite book by Mo Willems but it got a run for it’s spot when the first two Elephant and Piggie book arrived on the scene.
The point is, I assume you have heard of Mo Willems. Even if you don’t know his name you have likely read at least one of his many delightful books.
There are SO many good ones though – so where do you start? Which ones do you buy for a new baby? Which ones do you pull out for a toddler? Which ones do you gift because they’re obvious winners?
I think I can help with all of those questions.
Which Mo Willems Book is Right for You?
These guidelines below are all based on my years teaching toddlers and preschoolers and with my own twins, along with my extensive knowledge of children’s books – but for the record they are just my opinion. Each child and person will have different experiences and preferences.
Let’s start with babies.
If I’m being 100% honest, I don’t think Mo has much that is great for babies. If your goal is to launch a kiddo or new parent’s home library then I would just pick your favorite.
But if you’re gifting a Mo Willems book to New Parents…
then I might go with WELCOME: A MO WILLEMS GUIDE FOR NEW ARRIVALS. It has a lot of meta humor that parents enjoy and it’s a cute book. Of his books it’s definitely the best for babies and it’s definitely a funny gift.
READ ALSO: BEST BOOKISH BABY SHOWER GIFTS
Mo for Toddlers
I think toddlers are a good place to start with Mo Willems books. For younger toddlers I would start with:
- Who Says That, CAT the CAT?
- Who Sleeps, CAT the CAT?
- Board Book Pigeon books like, THE PIGEON LOVES THINGS THAT GO or THE PIGEON HAS FEELINGS TOO!
Then when they are about two and a half or so, you can move into the picture book Pigeon books and the other picture books by Mo. My favorites are below.
My kids also adored TIME TO PEE! when it was time to ditch their diapers and learn to use the toilet.
Mo for Preschoolers
The preschool age is where Mo Willems really hits his sweet spot with favorites like the Pigeon book series. Start with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, because it’s still the best – but other favorites for this age include:
- The Pigeon Needs a Bath – watch this cute video clip of Mo for this one.
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late
Due to their shorter text and BIG emotions, the Elephant and Piggie series are a big hit with the preschoolers even though they technically sit in the Easy Reader section of most libraries. Read these will lots of over-dramatic expression for a huge read aloud win. Although I love every last one, my personal favorites are:
In the preschool ages you can also get into some of Mo Willem’s other picture books. They are all delightful, but here are our favorites.
- LEONARDO THE TERRIBLE MONSTER, which now has a companion book about Sam
- A BUSY CREATURE’S DAY EATING! (alphabet book)
- THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA!
- GOLDILOCKS and the THREE DINOSAURS
- AMANDA & HER ALLIGATOR
The Knuffle Bunny books are also perfect when you get into the slightly older preschoolers. Four and up will enjoy these books. I think these are best read in chronological order starting with KNUFFLE BUNNY.
Mo for Kindergarten and Up
Kindergarteners and First Graders love any of the Mo Willems books mentioned in the preschool section. They still find them funny and those – the Pigeon and Elephant & Piggie books are often checked out when I’m manning the school library desk each week.
Kids this age will also enjoy things by Mo like learning how to draw Piggie in this video.
I enjoyed NANETTE’S BAGUETTE for a discussion about rhyming. It is full of great vocabulary and fun rhymes. You can watch Mo put this one together in a fun video on YOUTUBE.
For new readers, I would try:
- TIME TO SLEEP SHEEP the SHEEP! and the other Cat Cat Books
- then the ELEPHANT & PIGGIE series
First and Second Graders also love when they get to the stage where they can read the Elephant and Piggie books on their own. They aren’t the easiest Easy Readers so this comes a little later in the stages of reading development but it’s a fun milestone.
Also Read: Easy Readers New Readers Can Actually Read
My kids enjoyed reading them kind of like a play with me. I would be one of the characters and they would be the other.
Once kids are reading more independently, don’t miss Mo’s first Chapter Book, THE STORY OF DIVA AND FLEA. You will read mixed reviews about this one. I think that is mostly because it has a distinctly different feel from his other books. The tone is different and the illustrations were done by someone other than Mo, although I think Tony DiTerizzi did a great job. I however absolutely adore this story. It is heartwarming and full of pluck and gentle humor and great friendship.
Activities for Mo Willems Unit Study
- Visit Mo’s website for lots of fun stuff and to learn more about Mo.
- Find Mo Willems videos on YouTube. In this one he talks about writing books and here is a playlist of other popular Mo Willems videos.
- Read lots of Mo books and find common themes.
- Compare and contrast characters like Elephant & Piggie or Piggie and the Pigeon.
- Try this simple emotions lesson with an Elephant and Piggie book or a Pigeon book.
- Try another idea from the round up below.
