There is a Bird on Your Head!

There is a Bird on Your Head! by Mo Willems

2008 Theodore Suess Geisel Award Winner

There is a Bird on Your Head is another great work by Mo Willems.  TIABOYH is part of the Elephant & Piggie series, which features very simple drawings of friends Elephant & Piggie.  Each book shows the characters in a short, simple situation, drawn in minimal colors (there are only 10 shades in this particular book) with a white background, giving all of the attention to the characters and words.  The style is cartoon- like, with all of the text appearing as conversational bubbles over the character's heads.

The simplicity is interesting in two ways. One might think that small children need context to comprehend the story, but children really love these books and seem to understand the very simple situations very well, probably because only one problem is dealt with at a time.  It is also interesting that all of the words are portrayed through the character's speech; there is no narrator.  The reader must make connections, fill in the "missing" parts and act as their own narrator.

It is perhaps because of the technique that allows the reader to act as the narrator that this book (as I believe of all Mo Willems' books)  appeals to adults and children.  For instance, when Elephant says "Two birds are making a nest on my head?", this will be read by a child as a simple question that moves story along.  Adults may read this line with intonation that shows the absurdity of having a bird make a nest on one's head, making it humorous at another level.

The drawing and use of various fonts and exclamation points is another way that expression is given to the words without use of complicated drawings or scenarios.  This technique almost gives the books a "physical" humor that kids love.  For instance, on page 46, when Elephant shouts "SOMEWHERE ELSE!", it not only reads as him shouting (yelling seems to be a big hit with kids), but his shouting is so loud, that it literally knocks Piggie over.  And, who doesn't love some Chevy Chase - style physical humor?

This and all of the Elephant & Piggie books are very good for read alouds for 3 & up, as well as for beginning readers.