An all-time favorite children’s author and illustrator for myself and other teachers worldwide is Mo Willems. His books are fantastic! I absolutely loved all of his books since the moment I read the first one. Mo Willems has written many books and they’re perfect for elementary-aged boys and girls. Plus, many younger primary students can read a few of his series on their own. I own the majority of his books and often had to rebuy some of them because my students wore them out. Here are my top Mo Willems’ children books series for kids.
* Each book title links to Amazon just to make it easy – you can read reviews, a summary, and order should you choose! (This post contains affiliate links.)
Top Mo Willems’ Book Series For Kids Number 1: The Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale
My students were struggling with learning the difference between an illustration and a photograph when I happened to come across my first Mo Willems’ book, The Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. In the story, Trixie and her family lived in New York City and Trixie’s favorite stuffed animal is her Knuffle Bunny. One day, Trixie loses her Knuffle Bunny, and she and her parents go on a mission to find her missing bunny. The challenging part is Trixie isn’t old enough to speak yet so communicating a missing bunny to her dad is a challenge for her, and understanding what’s wrong is a challenge for her father.
What I love about this story is that everyone can relate. At one point in time, everyone has lost something they love. Additionally, Mo Willems uses photographs of New York as the background and illustrations for the characters. By the end of the story, students really understand the difference between the two mediums. Finally, this book doesn’t end here. Mo Willems wrote two more books in the series; the sequel to the story, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity, and the conclusion to the story, Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion.
Top Mo Willems’ Book Series For Kids Number 2: The Pigeon Series
As a teacher, I love reading a book that my students can interact with. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus is my favorite book of all time to read to my class. Students love listening to this book because it’s funny and they can interact with the book. In the story, a bus driver has to leave and puts the reader in charge of making sure the Pigeon doesn’t drive the bus. Throughout the story, the pigeon is begging and pleading to drive the bus, and the reader has to tell him no each time.
This book is great because not only is it a Caldecot Honor Award Winner, it’s also a great read aloud book and a book for students to read on their own. The text and illustrations are pretty simple for a student to read and understand. I know this is a big hit with my kindergarten and first grade students. When I was a librarian, I had all ages checking this book out from the library. Also, my own child loved this book starting at less than two years old. He loved it so much that the pigeon was his theme for his birthday party.
The Pigeon books are super popular and don’t just end with Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. The series has 9 books in total with The Pigeon Has to Go to School as the newest one in the series. I still think the original is the best, but there’s something special about every other one of the books in his series.
Book Series Number 3: Elephant and Piggie
Mo Willems next book series, Elephant and Piggie, is one of his biggest ones with a total of 25 books and similarly inspired books written by other authors. Two of his Elephant and Piggie stories have won a Theodor Seuss Geisel Award and five have won Theodor Seuss Geisel Honors. Elephant and Piggie are two best friends that go on many fun adventures with each other. Each book will have the students laughing throughout. The books are great for read alouds or students reading independently. Each book has very few words on each page and the illustrations and words are easy for beginner readers.
Mo Willems is a great children’s author and illustrator. You really can’t go wrong in reading any of his books, which include many other than those mentioned above. Children and adults of all ages love his books. If you would like more information about Mo Willems or his books, check out his website.
Do your students like doing crafts? I have a great Pigeon craft for you and your students to do together. Click here for the directions and template.
Activities for Your Classroom
Are you still looking for more ideas? Check out the FREE Reading Graphic Organizer today! This tool can help students identify the main idea, story elements, and the beginning, middle, and end of stories. It can be used with any story you want to introduce in your classroom, and best of all, it’s FREE!
