Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

Willems, M. (2009).  Naked mole rat gets dressed.  New York:  Hyperion Books for Children.

This is a hilarious picture book about the little known creatures:  naked mole rats.  Mo Willems uses  simple cartoons to tell this story of a naked mole rat who wishes to wear clothes.  The other naked mole rats do not understand him and his desire and want to mold him to their way of thinking.  The Grand-pah naked mole rat, who is the leader of sorts, makes a proclamation and everyone is happy.  You will have to read this to find out the ending!  I chose this book because it is such a funny story, you will be laughing all throughout.  This book uses some language that might make it hard for younger children to understand (such as "sarcastic" and "proclamation"), so be prepared to explain either before or during the reading.  This book can be used in a variety of ways within the classroom:  social studies (dress in different cultures), science (study of naked mole rats), and language (retelling, listening).

As with the other two Mo Willems books, I can see that he LOVES to laugh and make others laugh as well.  I really want to go read all his books!

Big Question(s):  Why do you think the naked mole rat wanted to wear clothes?  How do you think you would feel in his shoes?  Why do you think all the other naked mole rats thought he was gross for wanting to wear clothes?