Customer Reviews

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Maybe it's because I love every other book by Mo Willems, or maybe it's because I went to a book signing for this book, or maybe it's because I'm a little in love with Mo, but I thought this book was adorable.

In a world where no one would be caught in public in anything more than their birthday suit, one mole rat dares to defy social tradition and don clothes. One mole rat stands against a social order of injustice where a shirt and shoes won't get you service, where ruffles and lace make you overdressed for even the most formal occasion, where flip-flops are too dressy to meet the Grand Pumba. I'll stop there before I get really carried away.

With classic Mo wit and wisdom, this book made me laugh and want to play dress-up. The anti-Emperor's New Clothes, this book was a delight.

I found this book in a round about sort of way. I am not familiar with Mo Willems other works, so he as the author was not a deciding factor for me. The reason that I decided to purchase this book is because my three-year-old daughter's best friend is a stuffed naked mole rat, and I could not pass up an opportunity to have a book with one of her favorite critters as the subject.

This book is such a joy; it never gets tired. My husband and I have read it over and over again to our daughter for weeks now and we all enjoy it as much as the first time we read it. It's story about being yourself and being willing to try new things pairs wonderfully with the charming illustrations.

I love Mo Willems and the books he writes. I love that there are children's writers out there that write books for the sake of being silly, because really, couldn't we all use a good laugh!? The title of the book alone, and the fact that I am a Mo fan, made me buy this book the minute it came out. I could not wait to see what he was going to do with a topic for a book about naked mole rats. The fun started immediately when he writes, "No shirt. No shoes. Service." A great homage to a familiar sign.

In typical Mo fashion, the book is silly, geared towards kids who like to laugh, and parents who like to read books to kids who enjoy this type of humor. Our friend Wilbur, who is supposed to fall in line like all the other naked mole rats in his colony, is a rebel who likes to wear clothes. And this is where the trouble begins for poor Wilbur. One sarcastic mole rat suggests he opens a clothing store more as an after thought to make Wilbur feel stupid, and sure enough, that is EXACTLY what Wilbur does. The mole rats try convince him to take off his duds and go commando, even summoning the oldest and greatest grand-poobah of the tribe in hopes that Wilbur sees the light. I won't give away the ending, but it is safe to say, this is a great book about being true to yourself despite all the peer pressure that surrounds you.

Why did I not give my beloved Mo five stars? I wished he had made the story a little bit longer to develop the character of Wilbur and added a bit more humor. We wanted to know more about Wilbur and how he came to wear clothing when all the other naked mole rats did not, and we wanted a reason to cheer for him in his pursuit of a clothing not-optional lifestyle. We never warmed up to Wilbur like we did with the Pigeon in Mo's "Pigeon" series. It is a fun book with a cute concept, but I think the "Pigeon" books are a little funnier. My 8 year old son thought so too. We read and re-read the "Pigeon" books A LOT, but he has not asked to hear this story again and we have had the book two weeks. There were not as many laugh out loud parts to this book as there are in the "Pigeon" books, but it is still funny, and there are still plenty of parts in the book to love. His illustrations continue to be great and really capture the spirit of the book. If you like Mo, you will like this book.

Also of note: Amazon has this listed as a book for the 9-12 year old age range. I don't think they chose the correct range. I would say the book is meant for kids ages 4-10, and of course, all adults! I can't imagine a child much older than 10 who is reading chapter books finding the book as appealing as a younger child.

I am a fifth grade student in Arizona and our library has a book that I LOVED and as you probably guessed it is Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. Don't be fooled by the very strange and unique title. This book shows a very important lesson of being yourself no matter what others think of it, but in an extremely creative way and representing it through animals. In this story one of the naked mole rats enjoys putting some clothes on which makes him not so naked anymore and the other mole rats will not stand for it. The mole rat that likes getting dressed has the name of Wilbur and stands a good point against the rest of the colony.

This story takes the mole rats on an adventure they have never had to be on and they seem to be asking us to take it with them. The relation between our real life and they spend their days is crazy and interesting with a creative twist!

Mo Willems in my opinion is an amazing author and if you like this book then you should some of his other books like the more popular ones such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Also the series of Piggy and Elephant is really very good as well.

But back to Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. Who would think of writing a children's book on mole rats and their nakedness, I don't know, but when Mo Willems does you should and hopefully now know it is a no brainer that you HAVE TO read this book!

I am the mom of premature twin boys. I (lovingly) called them my little naked mole rats when they were in the incubators so tiny and so wrinkled. So I had to buy this book when I saw it because of the title. When I got it I was so delighted to find such a fun story!!! My boys (now chubby and healthy 15 month olds) love it. They like the pictures and love when I make funny voices for the mole rats. I highly recommend this book for little ones. It shows that there is nothing wrong with being different in such a sweet fun way.

Whether or not you know it there are some "little creatures known as naked mole rats." They are kind of funny looking critters with two long teeth that stick straight down out of their mouths, they have pretty pink skin, cute little ears gawky, rectangular heads and walk upright ... AND are buck naked, except for one of them. Wilbur loved getting dressed up, but all his friends thought that was kind of barfy and made noises at him as if he were stinky. "Eeeeeewwwww! Yuck!" and asked him what he was doing.

He tried to tell them that when he got dressed he could be all kinds of things from fancy to funky and even an astronaut if he felt like it. They still made fun of him and when he opened a store, which they laughingly said he should do, they tried to tell him about Grand-pah. Now he was stylish and was buck naked too. That Wilbur just didn't seem to want to fit in with the crowd. The other moles went off to complain to Grand-pah and Wilbur was really going to be in for it. What was Grand-pah going to do about Wilbur?

This funny story is about a boy, er, mole who decided he would march to his own drummer and was quite happy with being a bit different in spite of what his friends said. The little nekid moles will charm and delight the young child and I had to admit, they made me smile and giggle a few times as I turned the pages. This would be a great story to read during circle or story time, especially if you are an expressive reader. Get ready to listen to a lot of giggling when they see the picture of Wilbur and his comical naked mole pals!

Bought this for my nephew. He loves these stories, and I think they're adorable. They send a good message, too. Book arrived exactly as advertised. No complaints!

There are very very few of Mo Willem's books that we have not enjoyed. This is one his best! Although I was worried that the text and simple illustrations would not hold my 3 yo's interest, they did! She requests this book again and again! This is a book you actually do NOT mind reading over and over to your child. It is funny and leaves the reader with a valuable lesson. Even if we are different, we can still get along! What kid doesn't need to be reminded of that?!
Buy this book!

Themes: differences, self-esteem, peer-pressure, acceptance
Content areas: Early Reading, Writing - punctuation, Art - visual expression, Guidance- acceptance

Quick teacher/parent read aloud or early reader. Older primary students (2nd) - great for prediction exercises. Funny spoof on what young kids say when they hear the word "naked"; only for these characters it's "dressed".

I purchased this book as a gift for my 5 yr old son. We have read it over and over again. We were already fans of Mo Willems books, but this is by far our favorite! It has a great message about daring to be different and being yourself. The story is of a naked mole rat that like to wear clothes. All the other naked mole rats think he's weird and demand that he not wear clothes. The illustrations are so funny as is the storyline. I don't think we will tire of this book for quite awhile!