Book Review: NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED

Book Review, Genre 1

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

Author: Mo Willems

Title: Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

Illustrator: Mo Willems

Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children

Publication Date: 2009

ISBN: 978-142311437-6

Plot summary: The name alone says it all: naked mole rats do not wear clothing because they are naked. However, a naked mole rat named Wilbur prefers clothing and gets dressed repeatedly in various outfits that make him feel good in Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed by Mo Willems. The other naked mole rats disapprove and tease Wilbur about his choice … until he asks them “Why not?” The naked mole rats take Wilbur’s question to Grand-pah, the wisest of all naked mole rats. Grand-pah agrees with Wilbur and declares that all naked mole rats should dress - or go naked - as they please.

Critical analysis: Author and illustrator Mo Willems captures humor in his drawings of naked mole rats and the clothing choices they make. I have personally watched children giggle, point and laugh, and share Willems’ books with their peers. Children get the sense of humor Willems conveys on the pages of his books. This would be a great book to grow a school library’s collection of Willems’ books because in addition to being funny, the book encourages readers to try new things and to surround themselves with things that make them happy.

Review excerpt:

Winner of the 2009 Parents’ Choice Gold Award; New York Times bestseller

KIRKUS REVIEW:

Willems tackles the old it’s-OK-to-be-different genre with his customary chutzpah and subversive charm. It is common knowledge that naked mole rats are just that: naked. Wilbur, however, is a strange fellow who enjoys a nice set of clothes. Suffice it to say the other mole rats are shocked and horrified by his behavior. They mock him, show him heroic portraits of naked heroes and finally complain to the great Grand-pah, who is both very wise and very nude. But after some consideration, Grand-pah surprises everyone by proclaiming (while wearing a rather natty outfit of his own) that while clothes “may not be for everyone” they certainly can be fun. Willems eschews a black-and-white encouragement to stand out from the crowd, offering instead a story that makes a case for different opinions to operate side by side. There are some similarities to the Pigeon format (including the trademark temper tantrum, for instance), but otherwise this is a story that stands firmly on its two bare feet. (Picture book. 4-8)

Connections: School libraries can lead students to author and illustrator Mo Willems’ web site: www.pigeonpresents.com to learn more about Willems and his works. Directly related to Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is a game where users can dress Wilbur.

Bibliography

Cover, Mount Juliet, Tennessee. Personal photograph by Amy Wilson. September 6, 2016.

Willems, Mo. Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2009.

Willems, Mo. “NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED by Mo Willems, Mo Willems|Kirkus Reviews.” Kirkus Reviews. Accessed September 6, 2016. https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/mo-willems/naked-mole-rat-gets-dressed/.