Mo willems pigeon
![mo willems pigeon mo willems pigeon](https://ih1.redbubble.net/image.1806951315.0729/st,small,507x507-pad,600x600,f8f8f8.jpg)
I recently had the opportunity to talk with Willems about the inherent power of drawing, why adults should consider undergoing “shame-ectomies,” and why he’s always on the side of the kids. Young children around the world are drawn to the distinctive voice and visual style of Willems, who spent years working for Sesame Street before going on to write and illustrate dozens of books, winning three Caldecott awards along the way-for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. My second grader’s experience isn’t unusual. It dawned on him, I think, that his own desire for silliness and play could be fulfilled in a story. Something about that dynamic must have been thrilling to my student, because We Are in a Book! turned him into a reader. That changed when we started reading Mo Willems’s We Are in a Book! I voiced the part of the elephant, Gerald, and he took the part of the pig, Piggie-good pals who come to realize that they are, in fact, in a book, and have the hilarity-provoking power to control what the readers say.
![mo willems pigeon mo willems pigeon](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/81dAcoIScDL.jpg)
While his peers were busy devouring books, he’d spend his time distracting them, being silly, finding other things to occupy his time. He’d made the decision that it was simply too boring.
![mo willems pigeon mo willems pigeon](https://static01.nyt.com/images/2016/03/18/arts/18WILLEMS6/18WILLEMS6-articleLarge.jpg)
When I taught second grade, I had a student who absolutely hated reading.