Favorite Authors.

[temporus]

I can't say for sure if Mo Willems is my son's favorite author just yet.  But he does seem to be the first author that my four year old recognizes by name.  It's not that he hasn't had more than one book by an author before, he has.  I think, however, the fact that he discovered a link between two books, the first being Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late, and the second There's a Bird on Your Head!    He noticed that on the very last end-page of the book (you know the bit that is glued to the cover) there's one picture of the bird's in the nest that has instead of the two birds from the Elephant and Piggie book, the Pigeon from the Pigeon books sitting there eating a hotdog.  (One of the Pigeon's favorite foods.)   Both my wife and I missed that.  Clever kid.  I don't know if that's the reason he likes Mo Willems.  But Mo is the first author whose name he read on the cover, when reading a book to me.  Now, it could be that he just loves the books (and he gets quite a kick out of them) and it might be because it's an easier name to read  than many others.  But then over the weekend, we got to go to a play where they put on a selection of short musicals based upon five different kid's books, and there was a Mo Willems book, and when they said the author's name, my son started shaking with excitement.  Mind you, he was practically shaking himself to pieces with excitement already, having a wonderful time, but I got the sense that he was extra excited to be seeing another Mo Willems story.  (This one was Leonardo the Terrible Monster.)   I heard him repeat the name after they announced it.

Will it last?  Will Mo continue to be my son's favorite?  Who knows.  I'm just impressed he's starting to get a sense of authorship, and how books might relate to others if even in an "easter egg" sort of way.  I can't think back to my earliest favorite books.  I'm sure I had some favorite authors, but in honesty, I don't recall them prior to the Happy Hollister series by Jerry West*, which I loved when I was in grammar school.  (Which I am thrilled to find out that are being re-issued, including at least the first one on Kindle.  And yes, I did buy the ebook, so there!)

Do you remember your first favorite author?  Who was he, or she?

*Jerry West was apparently a pseudonym for Andrew Svenson, who wrote many books in famous kid's series, like the Hardy Boys, The Bobbsey Twins, and the like.

Comments

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

I think I was six or seven before I remembered authors.

[sartorias.livejournal.com]

(But then I was mostly exposed to Little Golden Books until I could read for myself)

[temporus.livejournal.com]

It's only recently that he's started paying attention. Which might well be my own fault, as I don't always read the title and byline for every book every night.

[jongibbs.livejournal.com]

Michael Bond. He wrote those amazing A Bear Called 'Paddington' books :)

[temporus.livejournal.com]

Surprisingly, despite those being my eldest sister's favorites, I never read any Paddington Bear stories until much older.