Caped Crusader Reader: Unlimited Squirrels--Who Is the Mystery Reader?: The Big Story by Mo Willems

Four squirrels approach a big yellow sign that reads STOP. But the squirrels cannot read the sign. Discombobulated, they squeak and squabble about what to do!

“Excuse me!” says a authoritative voice. "Why not READ IT?"

Who is this mysterious speaker from out of nowhere? The squirrels are awestruck!

"THE MASK!

THE UNDERPANTS!

IT’S THE–-MYSTERY READER!”

Ah, yes! It’s that caped crusader who combats illiteracy among squirrels wherever he finds it. Equipped with the secret knowledge of that awesome power–-phonics-–he roams the forest and fields, fighting for the unlettered among his kind–-enlightening unschooled squirrels with elite knowledge of consonants vowels, diphthongs, and blends.

In the latest Mo Willems’ series of early readers, Who is the Mystery Reader? (Unlimited Squirrels) (Hyperion, 2019), young scholars are engaged with the non-reading squirrels to begin to learn the sounds of the letters to “sound out” the words along with Willems' eager reader squirrels. Like the many popular easy readers written by Dr. Seuss, author-illustrator Mo Willems is the go-to guy for engaging stories for beginning readers--a mystery reader leader who teaches with rhyme and repetition and with wit and wisdom.

The first book in this series is I Lost My Tooth! (An Unlimited Squirrels Book), which joins author-illustrator Willems' beloved Elephant and Piggy and The Pigeon series, letter perfect for emergent readers.