A Busy Creature's Eating Day by Mo Willems

1. Bibliography 

Willems, Mo. A Busy Creature's Day Eating. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children, an imprint of Disney Book Group, 2019.

2. Plot Summary

In Mo Willems's hilarious fashion, this colorful ABC book story is not your typical story. An enthusiastic creature begins by eating his way through the alphabet with apples, berries, and cereal, doughnuts, and eggs, a rather normal breakfast for a creature. However, after  “e”,  things get a bit hairy. The creature begins eating furniture, a jacket and kilt, and a napkin among other food items. Before long, the creature's eating day catches up with him. 

3. Critical Analysis

Mo Willems’ uproarious tale comes to life through his brightly colored, geometric, double page spread, illustrations. The creature’s expression tells the story of his journey from delight to dread to dreaminess as he eats his way through everything in his house. The illustrations show Creature’s wild, lively movements with the lines, shadows, and starburst backgrounds. In classic alphabet book fashion, each letter is represented by only one word (except for “Hugh Hot-Sauce Halibut Hoagie” and a few other adjective phrases), yet Willems is able to tell a complete tale. Speech bubbles, punctuation, and letter sizing are used effectively to convey different emotions to the reader. Although the creature is not human, he displays the human-like qualities of overindulgence, regret, and a need for comfort and connection from his parental figure. 

4. Award(s) and Review Excerpt(s)

From Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books: “This is perfect for kids who will appreciate an alphabet with some guts, both full and empty.”

From Kirkus Review: “Children will follow right along with the creature’s mishaps, and they will enjoy predicting (incorrectly) what it might eat and (correctly) what happens as its face starts to turn green.”

5. Connections

Gather other Mo Willems books to read such as:

• Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus! ISBN 078681988X
  
• Knuffle Bunny. ISBN 9780786818709
  
• Waiting Is Not Easy. ISBN 978-1423199571
  

Gather other alphabet books: 

• Martin, Bill Jr. Chicka Chicka Boom Book. ISBN 9781442450707
  
• Dr. Suess. Dr. Seuss’s ABC. ISBN 9780385375160
  
• Binkham, Kelly. Z is for Moose. ISBN 0060799846
  

Use as a comparison to Mo Willems’ other books and discuss style.

Use as a model for students to write their own ABCs book or have students.