Thanks Mo Willems for being so brilliant

This book has caused a real furore in our house. I mean the children actually fight over it. Hear that? My children fight over a BOOK.

To me that is the Holy Grail - a book that your children love and you actually don't mind reading at least 15 nights in a row? With voices.

It's like the Pixar of the book world. There was a time when parents dreaded being dragged to the cinema to see the latest sugar fest, with little in the way of plot, lame jokes and characters so irritating you want to gnaw your own hand off after just 10 minutes.

But these days there are grown ups I know who go out hunting for a friends' child to take to the cinema so they can see the likes of Monsters Inc, Toy Story, Shrek without feeling like a social pariah. Or looking a bit sad. Who are you going to blame for making all that noise with a bag of popcorn if there isn't a child clamped to your hip?

Anyway, we have found an author who offers all that - in books.
His name is Mo Willems and we are addicted to his witty style of storytelling.

And OK so this American author has languished at the top of the New York best sellers list and won various awards for his efforts. But so what, that is so not going to cut any mustard with a five-year-old.
(Personally, the fact that he wrote scripts for Sesame Street elicited a bigger 'oo' from me!)

So at the moment we are on the first reader series - The Elephant & Piggie books - and Daniel actually thinks he's 'having fun' instead of 'learning'. His favourite is I Am Invited to a Party! (for which mummy has to come up with all manner of aside voices and facial expressions) (can you imagine that, facial expressions for a book!)

But our all time favourite has to be Leonardo The Terrible Monster - not terrible as in gnashing jaws and scary roar, terrible as in totally rubbish and can't even "scare the tuna salad" out of the most nervous little boy in town.

Really simple books. Few words, basic illustrations and a great sense of humour.

Brilliant.

Or as Daniel puts it: "Way cool!"