Who Is the Mystery Reader?, by Mo Willems | Book Review

Book Review of Who’s the Mystery Reader
The Children’s Book Review

Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems

Ages 6-8 | 96 Pages

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children | ISBN: 9781368046862

What to Expect: Easy Reader, Anthropomorphic Animals, Friendship

For readers who are fans of Mo Willems’ Elephant and Piggy series, the new Unlimited Squirrels series is sure to be a hit. Not quite a story and not quite non-fiction, this easy reader series combines the best of both worlds, offering snippets of narrative, jokes, facts, and word-play, all tied together with a generous dollop of tongue-in-cheek humor. In Who’s The Mystery Reader, Willems introduces readers to key reading concepts, such as sounding out phonemes, through the key characteristics of the “mystery reader” whose super-power is reading. Readers will also learn interesting facts about the history of writing while laughing along with the antics of the squirrels.

Slightly more challenging than the Elephant and Piggy series, Who’s The Mystery Reader and the Unlimited Squirrels series approach reading and language from a wide variety of different angles, helping blossoming readers to think critically about language as they practice their reading skills. At the same time, the series gently incorporates key social and emotional themes, providing significant material for further discussion. Humorous and expressive illustrations are paired with lively but simple text to support reading and decoding skills. Overall, this is an enjoyable and cleverly constructed read that promises to be another fantastic series from Mo Willems.

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About the Author and Illustrator

Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded three Caldecott Honors, and his celebrated Elephant & Piggie series has received two Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals and five Geisel Honors. He lives in Massachusetts with his family. Learn more at pigeonpresents.com.

Who Is the Mystery Reader, written by Mo Willems, was reviewed by Dr. Jen Harrison. Discover more books like Who Is the Mystery Reader by following along with our reviews and articles tagged with Friendship, Animals, Graphic Novels, and Humorous Books.