Way too much fun with a crowded room of preschoolers!

So Mo was FANTASTIC...loved every minute! The room was PACKED -- with adults and "the shorter version of adults" as Mo likes to call kids...

He was animated, he engaged the audience, he made reading F U N!!! Which is exactly the point.

He read his two newest Cat the Cat books -- which are perfect for new readers, as we predicted. I really like them. I will sit down with them tomorrow (I bought them both of course) and will come up with some things to do when reading with your child.

That room was filled with 5 and unders, but they were engaged and involved as he read. Some fans had t-shirts, had drawn their own versions of his characters, and almost all had new books ready for him to sign and personalize. That's awesome. Think of the great start as readers those kids have.

I stood patiently in line with Nicholas squirming in my arms, anxious to get my chance to speak with him. Matt, who also went (Ben and Sam had baseball -- sorry they missed) was cute...he kept trying to figure out exactly what he was going to say to him. He was shy, yet moreso, impressed. He knows the treasures books are, and he admires those who actually pen them.

Mo was gracious to each one who walked up to the table, and chatted with everyone. I stammered something about blogging about him and how I understood how he crafted these books for those young readers I teach. I thanked him for giving such wonderful material, and that there are so very many kids who have him to thank for being fluent readers who LOVE reading. Not very articulate, I know...how can you in 20 seconds say it all?

I do hope at some point he can read here how much I do appreciate his work and use it to get kids reading.

Matt chatted the whole way home about how great it was to meet him and to have heard him read the books. "Mom, you do it well, but he REALLY got into it -- even Nicky was laughing his head off!"

Yeah well, I guess I have some big shoes to fill now when I read aloud.

Yea Mo! And thanks, for signing our books -- Forrest boys do rock!