Mr. Wuffles!

Author & Illustrator:
David Wiesner
Published:  2013

On January 26, 2014, NPR posted the article, "8 Picture Books that Make Us Wish We Were Kids Again."  I saw the pictures for Mr. Wuffles! and found it so strange that aliens were walking around a cat and then communicating with bugs, that I had to read the book.

The lines on the cover draw your eyes down to the cat, but take a moment and look around!  All of the characters are hidden right there on the cover.  A bug is flying in the upper left corner of the page and the aliens are in the spaceship hidden behind the plant and in front of the toy mouse. 

Mr. Wuffles is aloof.  I think most cats are like this, I'm not a cat person, so I can't be sure, but it's how I imagine them and it is how Mr. Wuffles comes across to me.  He is walking around piles of toys with price tags still on them and yet none of them interest him.  The only thing that interests him is the spaceship with 5 little green aliens.  The aliens believe they are done for and their supplies are destroyed with the cat's shenanigans.  When the cat finally falls asleep, the aliens think they can make a run for it, but the cat awakens.  The aliens are about to be pounced upon, but a heroic little ladybug saves the day.  The aliens have time to run behind a wall and discover new friends, a ladybug and some ants.  The ants help the aliens fix their supplies and escape the from the cat. 

The pictures in Mr. Wuffles! are fun because you are right there with the aliens as they try to survive the cat attack and you are eye-level with the cat.  I can imagine my students writing the words to this story.  I wonder what kind of amazing things are happening behind my walls?  I don't have a cat, but next time I see my dog staring at a corner, I'll be sure to check for aliens!

Check this book out from the library!
Check out David Wiesner talking about Mr. Wuffles!  ***See the REAL Mr. Wuffles!***