We Love Mo Willems

My very favorite thing to do with Claire and Benjamin is read books. Lately, we're big fans of Mo Willems. It all started with "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus." I think Claire heard it at school, then we checked it out from the library, then we ordered it from a Scholastic Book Order. (Love Scholastic Book Orders!) There's not much to it as far as words or pictures, but somehow it strikes a chord. Cracks us all up!



Then there were more pigeon books. Then Knuffle Bunny which makes the kids laugh so hard they get the hiccups. And Leonardo is funny funny funny too. We love them all.

Mo has won the Caldecott Honor twice and apparently won several Emmy's for his work on Sesame Street. You can see my favorite, Suzie Kabloozie, here.

In fact, Mo helped me with a good bit of parenting this morning. Lately, Benjamin has been screaming his head off when he gets dropped off at preschool three morning a week. This is a somewhat new behavior and no fun for anyone. I've tried lots of different tactics to make the morning go more smoothly. Some successful. Some not. Today, I suggested he bring "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" to school to share with his teachers and friends. Benjamin thought this was a brilliant idea. (I'm the smartest mom in the world.) And he was thrilled to show it off and explain that it was written by the same guy who wrote "Knuffle Bunny," which they read at school last week. Not one tear was shed (by Benjamin or me).

Lately there have been other parenting challenges with both kids. Some I've handled ok and some not so well. The weird result of these experiences is that even when I feel like I did the right thing or was successful in choosing "truth over harmony" it doesn't mean it was pleasant, or comfortable or less stressful. In fact, it's not. At the end of the day, sometimes I'm left feeling sad about certain incidents during the day, but pleased with how I handled them. A strange balance.

Oh my... too much analysis. I think I need another look at Suzie Kabloozie.