Let’s connect with author Mo Willems by learning to draw with him and some of his beloved characters from his popular children’s books!
Mo Willems is a popular focus for our Virtual Book Club for Kids!
The fun thing about studying different authors is you get the chance to learn something new about them.
As my daughter and I did a little searching to learn about Mo Willems we discovered all sorts of things about him. Plus he has so many great books that my daughter couldn’t wait to read.
We were surprised to discover that he used to write for Sesame Street where he earned six Emmy Awards for his writing.
Mo Willems is the author of groundbreaking picture books, including
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay up Late!
- The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
- Time to Say “Please”!
- Leonardo, the Terrible Monster
- Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct.
- Elephant & Piggie Books
- Knuffle Bunny
- Big Frog Can’t Fit In, City Dog and Country Frog
- Cat the Cat; Who is That?
Let’s get to know Mo Willems in person!
Mo Willem Videos for Kids
One of my goals for my daughter is to get to know a few authors on a more personal level.
Here are a quick video of Mo discussing how he gets inspired with his stories. I think it’s important for young readers and writers to see that writing is a process and it takes time to get inspired and to challenge yourself to create a terrific story.
We searched to get to know Mo Willems a little bit better as an author. We found out that his books inspired us to write our own stories. We’ve been working on writing stories in Kindergarten all year long so I felt this would be a great fit for my daughter to get inspired with her own stories.
“I designed my characters so that they could be easily drawn to create your own story.”
Mo Willems
Lunch Doodles with Mo Willems
Mo Willems invites YOU into his studio every day for his LUNCH DOODLE. Learners worldwide can draw, doodle and explore new ways of writing by visiting Mo’s studio virtually once a day for the next few weeks. Grab some paper and pencils, pens, or crayons and join Mo to explore ways of writing and making together.
New episodes will be posted each weekday at 1:00 p.m. ET and then remain online to be streamed afterwards. Check back each weekday for new LUNCH DOODLES!
Here’s a few fun videos about Mo Willems books
One of the things I like best about his stories is the characters. They are so easy to identify to and also to recreate on your own. Once I viewed his videos from above I realized that this was his intent all along… to inspire future illustrators and writers.
Learning how to draw from an illustrator is a great way to learn how to draw. My daughter spent some time learning how to recreate the characters from Mo Willems’ books.
Now that she has mastered illustrations she was ready to create her own versions of some of her favorite Mo Willems inspired characters and stories. Notice the addition of eye lashes to the characters to make them her own, female versions.
Plus I encourage her to illustrate more so we used a quick tip for writing with smaller children.
We allowed her to dictate her story to us as we typed them out onto the computer. It’s an instant way of teaching your child what they are saying has meaning and that they can create their own stories. I encourage you to try it with your little ones, they’ll love it!
Make sure you use a large font for their eyes to be able to follow easily.
Resources for Mo Willems Books
Mo Willems Author’s Site
Teacher’s Resources
Finger Plays
Mo Willems Book Event Kits from GO MO
Go Mo for Games Activities and Books
Disclosure: This post contains Amazon Affiliate Links.
Here are some of our favorite Mo Willems Books…Which Mo Willems book is your favorite?
Mo Willem Book Activities
- Counting Chocolate Chips – Duckling Get a Cookie by 3 Dinosaurs
- Nut Free Alphabet Cookies by Rainy Day Mum
- Sticky Cookie Craft by The Pleasantest Thing
- The Duckling Gets a Cookie Math Games by Inspiration Laboratories
- The Ducking Gets a Cookie Printable Clothespin Activity by Lalymom
- Mo Willems Inspired DIY Bunny Costume Felt Headband by The Educators’ Spin On It
- Knuffle Bunny Activity Mats by ready-set-read
- Cardboard Box Bus Craft & Number Game for Kids by Toddler Approved
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Activity by Coffee Cups and Crayons
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Puppets by Playdough to Playto
- Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: Puppets, Crafts and Storytelling by Playing with Words 365
- Letter B is for Bus Craft by Royal Baloo
- Pigeon Rhyming Race Activity by Growing Book by Book
- Pigeon Handprint by Mama Miss
- Duckling Felt Costume Headband for Playtime
- Knuffle Bunny Felt Headband
Thank you so much for sharing!
This is wonderful! Mo Willems is one of my favorite kid authors!! Just posted on Craft Gossip, sorry for the delay:( I was away from my computer for a little while.
http://lessonplans.craftgossip.com/?p=6609
We love Mo Willemstad, too! It looks like your daughter was having a great time with this activity.
Come join us! Honestly I think that's the fun of his characters they are so easy to recreate and help you child feel so successful. She practiced and studied lines and figured it out, I'm sure your little one can too!
I really need to join this party. We love Mo Willems, especially Elephant and Piggie series. Your daughter is an awesome artist, I wouldn't be able to illustrate Gerard half as well!
Thanks Courtney! With Smart Boards in so many classrooms this is a great way to connect children to authors. Using a quick author video clip and making them a real person, encourages them to connect and hopefully inspire our future writers. We're hoping to send a personal letter to Mo Willems soon too.
Fantastic post! I'm going to try to use these ideas in my first grade classroom.