Next week is the FRIENDIVERSARY!

 

Events are happening in schools all over New Orleans, Springfield, MA, and beyond.

You can help, too! (And thanks to all that are!)

All the details are here.

The press release is here. 

And if you are doing an event and have images, don't forget to share them with our pals at First Book.

Also, if you're in Brooklyn, NY this weekend, head over to the BAM Children's Film Festival where a host of great kid films will be screened, including the animated version of NAKED MOLE RAT GETS DRESSED, starring the voices of myself, my daughter, and my wife.  The fest was a family favorite when we lived in Brooklyn.

MO at UCB for FMU in NYC

I'll be taking a quick trip to NYC next week for work, including a stop at the UCB Theater on Wed. Feb. 8 at 6pm for the comedy/interview radio/live stage show Seven Second Delay.

A bunch of old pals have done this show (including David Wain, Michael Showalter, and Bill Plympton) and reports indicate it's great fun.

You can check out this not for the kiddies show either by coming to the theater listening LIVE on WFMU.

Hope to see ya there.

More info (and pix & podcasts of recent shows) here.

Nelson Willems is 91 (dog) yrs old today!

He is the inspiration for CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG, and an avid art collector.

 

Nelson has appeared in RHYMES WITH ORANGE

Some sketches of him from a few years back (click to enlarge)

Knuffle Musical Lives on...

Now that the Kennedy Center production of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical has finished its 19 month run, the musical has become available as a license for professional and community theaters care of Music Theater International.

If you think your Theater is the right place for Knuffle Bunny: The details are HERE.

MTI's blog post about the show is HERE.

Starting an Elephant & Piggie (and CYBILS finalist)

When I start working out an Elephant and Piggie story I take all of my sketches, notes, and pagination charts from my notebook and transfer the story into very rough drawings on small pieces of drawing paper.

This serves as a pitch for the story and a guide for the rhythm of the story.  It's so rough that it's easy to cut out, repose, or otherwise alter every beat quickly while still getting a sense of the piece's rhythm.

Here's a sample from a past volume: (click to enlarge)

(click to enlarge)

I'm currently at this stage for Elephant and Piggie #19 (!).  And while I can't give you a sneak peek as to how the pages look, I can give you a sneak listen to my drawing one page from the upcoming book:



Hope that doesn't give away too much.

Also:

Elephant and Piggie have been having a ball lately, with their Geisel Honor and ALA Notable citations.  On top of that, I've just found out that I BROKE MY TRUNK! is a finalist for the CYBILs in the Easy Reader Category.  The CYBILs are judged by passionate kids book fans who blog and chat about books.  They've been very, very nice to Elephant and Piggie in the past and it's a thrill to see that they still enjoy their adventures.

This year's list of finalists has some very stiff competition, any book on the list is deserving of a good read.

Thanks, CYBILs!

The Mo Willems Cartoon Collection

The folks at Weston Woods have just released a 2-DVD set of cartoons and documentaries based on my books.  Mo Willems Pigeon & Pals the Complete Collection brings together the cartoons from the volume 1 and volume 2 of the Mo Willems Cartoon Collection.

The set contains award-winning animation of the Pigeon, Knuffle Bunny, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Leonardo the Terrible Monster plus behind the scenes interviews and documentaries.

If you don't have any of these cartoons yet, here's your chance to get them in one package.

Currently we're working on animated versions of Knuffle Bunny Free and Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct.  They're both coming out really well.  More details later...

 

And in the Good News Dept., both Elephant and Piggie's Should I Share My Ice Cream? and I Broke My Trunk! have been named ALA Notable Books for 2012.  Huzzah, and thanks ALA!

CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG in Complex Chinese and New York State

Just in from Hong Kong.  Always fun to see the books in another language.

Funnily enough, to date City Dog, Country Frog has been translated only in Asian nations (China, Japan, Korea) although France is on it's way.

In New York State, City Dog, Country Frog is a Nominee for a Charlotte Award (a cool award voted on by real, live NYS kids!)  So, if you go to school in NY, go vote!

Speaking of real, live kids in New York, here's an interview I did with some of them about the book.