Mo Willems gets animated

The list of children’s books I’ve loved to read to my kids is l-o-n-g though I’ve always had a particular fondness for the books of author and illustrator Mo Willems. Unless you live under a rock, or a pile of newborn diapers, you are probably familiar with such stories as Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. These are the kinds of fun and playful storybooks you should, and probably will, read out loud over and over (and over) again.

Do I think such engaging children’s books really need to be put to video to be appreciated? Absolutely not. But they have been.

I happen to love the result and think it is definitely worth checking out, especially if you just can’t read it again, mommy!

[don’t miss a great giveaway after the jump!]

Scholastic’s new DVD, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! features three Mo Willems story books, but this isn’t just a straight narrator along with screen shots of the pages. In fact, the voiceover is by the author himself, and as someone who has listened to loads of audio books with the kids, I get a special thrill when I hear the actual author reading the text exactly how they meant for it to sound.

My kids and I are delighted with the animation which adds a layer of awesome to the drawings. In Knuffle Bunny, a complete toddler freak out, voiced by Mo’s daughter Trixie, becomes comedy gold. My kids replay the little girl going “boneless” until I have to beg them to move on with the story. And in Leonardo the Terrible Monster, animation brings this “scary” critter to life sweetly and in a way that utterly transfixes my kids.

The three stories do fly by, which is why I was glad to see that the bonus tracks are worth watching too. Mo Willems’ visit to a school where he reads Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and even shows the kids how to draw the little bird is engaging and sweet.

It almost makes me forgive all the screaming “NO!” I have to listen to whenever that pigeon begs to drive. -Christina

You’ll find Scholastic’s DVD, Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and more stories by Mo Willems, on our affiliate Amazon.

Congratulations to Andrea and Rachel, lucky winners of the Mo Willems DVDs!