Mo Willems' Pigeon App

One of my favorite blogs to read to find new books for the kids in my elementary library is MotherReader. She has great instincts into what books kids will like, plus I love her sense of humor and her almost-stalking of Mo Willems.  It was from her blog post "Mo and My Little Piggie" that I heard that Mo means for his books to be played like a readers theater, not just read, and doing that with the 2nd and 3rd graders in my library now is so much fun!  I have yet to have a group that can get through "We Are in a Book!" where they make the reader say, "Banana!" without falling on the floor laughing.  They often can't finish the play/story, and that's okay with me.

My school did the contest when "The Pigeon Wants a Puppy" was about to come out and no one knew what the Pigeon wanted.  Bulletin boards were covered with kids' pictures, from "The Pigeon Wants a Friend" to "The Pigeon Wants a Dessert" to "The Pigeon Wants a Sister."  Being a big Pigeon fan I entered MotherReader's contest for the new Mo Willems "Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App!".  What would be a good title for a Pigeon book that would make her and her TeenReader laugh?  Apparently "Don't Let the Pigeon Learn the Bagpipes!" was a winner.  I'm amazed and really excited to play with the Pigeon app.  I had a lot of fun thinking about it, and I think I'll ask my kids to think of some of their own, too.  More bulletin boards full of Pigeon pictures make for great library decorations!

Thanks, MotherReader for the app and the contest, and thanks for sharing good books with your readers!

Brixton Brothers: The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity by Mac Barnett

5/5 stars

As a fan of the Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew mysteries, I loved this first book in the Brixton Brothers series.  Steve is a big fan of the Bailey Brothers, reading and rereading every book in the series about two brothers who solve crimes just like Frank and Joe Hardy.  Excerpts from the Bailey Brothers books show off their famous roundhouse punch, how to find the best hiding places, and how to reveal the bad guy in front of all the witnesses, all while Steve is solving his first case and trying to answer these questions:

• Why are librarians chasing Steve through the library and all over town?
• When Steve checks out a quilting book from the library, why do the lights go out?
• Why has Steve been assigned a report on quilting over the weekend anyway?
• What is the mystery behind the mysterious Mr. E?
• Why does Steve want his best friend Dana to dress up like a gorilla?

These questions and many others are answered in the first Brixton Brothers mystery, The Case of the Case of Mistaken Identity.  Those who enjoy a good mystery, such as the Hardy Boys or Encyclopedia Brown, will have a lot of fun reading this book.