An E+P comic

(click to enlarge)

No fair...

From last year's sketchbook...

Wow...

As if I didn't have enough reasons to love indie booksellers and all their years of passionate support for my doodles...

Wowie-ka-zowie-KA-wowie-zing-zang.

I'm Blushing. And Smiling.

I'm Bliling.

(and for the record, not only are the other two books awesome, combined they make a great sentence...)

Greetings from DC

The past few days in DC were good fun. We had nice crowds in Fairfax, VA and at the National Zoo for my readings of Elephant and Piggie and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed.

I had some time off to check out some great shows at various museums on the Mall and made a quick speech at PBS Kids.

I also spent a morning at the Kennedy Center meeting with the theater staff and working on next May's Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical. We talked sets, stuff, met actors. It was all good fun.

Here I am with dramaturg Megan Alrutz and director Rosemary Newcott.

Here we are working...


Oh, and I got to meet a real, live Naked Mole Rat!


Three things I did not know before about Naked Mole Rats. 1. Their jaws are soooo strong they can chew through cement. 2. They have no 'sense of edge', which means they'll walk right off a table and >SPLAT!< 3. They are really, really gross.

Thanks to all for your kindness.

See ya...

I'm off to Washington DC for a few days of readings, meetings, and stuff...

In the meantime, here's a sooper-sneaky-sneak preview of an upcoming Elephant and Piggie adventure:
Well, at least they think it's funny...

I think you'd better sit down...

About 4 years ago I retired from TV animation... Or so I thought.

About a year or so ago I got a call from Mitch Hurwitz, which is cool because I like to watch his show, Arrested Development. Turns out we have a few things in common besides both having had a TV show suddenly canceled. Turns out Mitch likes Knuffle Bunny. Well, so do I

Well, before I know it my new pal has asked me to make some drawings for a TV show idea, and I say, "Sure" because 1. I like Arrested Development and 2. Having worked in TV for 15 years, I'm sure its not going to get made. Not ever.

Oops.

I don't know much more about the show except that I'm pretty certain you don't want your kids watching it when it premiers this evening.

For those of you who decide to tune in and love the show... uh, thanks. For those who hate it... uh, I just made few drawings like these:


The guys at FOX turned it into this:


Mitch explains the process here, the NY Times does it here...

Now back to my books...

My dog did it...

Sitting at my desk, I looked over and noticed that my dog, Nelson, had 'arranged' his two chewy balls on his sheep in such a way as to make it look like an fuzzy monster:


Don't see it?

Well, let's add a nose:


And a mouth.


Roaaaaar!!!!

Good boy, Nelson!

All of this has nothing to do with the fact that Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed amazingly enough landed on the New York Times Bestseller list for the 14th week in a row, at #8.

How's that for a segue?

Updates... and May Schedule

For those of you in the Washington DC area, I hope you'll come out and visit me on Monday April 20th at 6pm in the Fairfax Borders where I'll be reading from my latest Elephant and Piggie book, Watch Me Throw the Ball!, answering questions and signing books.


My event on Tuesday, reading Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed with a real Naked Mole Rat at the National Zoo is, unfortunately (fortunately?) fully booked. It should be a blast.

As long as we're talking appearances, here's the schedule for May, a month that is shaping up to be loads of fun.


Thursday, May 7th, 2:15 pm

I'll be in Springfield, MA for the MLA (Mass. Librarian Association) convention. I'll be giving a speech entitled: Mo Willems: The Man, The Myth, The Title of This Presentation. Then, I'll sign and at 4:15 pm I'll host the Massachusetts Book Cart Drill Team State Championships! As some of you know, my pal Jon Scieszka and I have a long tradition of supporting this under appreciated sport. This should be awesome and will also be a great chance for me to practice for hosting the Nationals at ALA in Chicago this summer.

These events are open to convention attendees.


Friday, May 15th

The Margaret S. Skiff Children's & Teen Literature Conference

Parma, Ohio

This looks like a cool one! A whole day of talks and signings by comix folks, including pal Charise Mericle Harper. Also on the bill are the amazing Raina Telgemeier, Nick Bertozzi, and Gene Luen Yang. I'm a fan of all the other guys on the bill and am looking forward to what they have to say.--- Oops. It looks like this one is fully booked...





Saturday, May 16th

Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art
Amherst, MA

The world premiere celebration of 3 new films! The animated shorts Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (starring myself and Jon Scieszka as the Bus Driver) and Knuffle Bunny Too (starring the whole Willems clan, Mommy, Daddy, and Trixie), plus a new documentary, Getting to Know Mo Willems. The cartoons are two of the best films I've ever worked on. I really love them, so please come out and watch.

And if that's not enough, we'll also screen the Carnegie Medal and NY Children's Film Festival winning Knuffle Bunny and the Carnegie Medal and NY Children's Film Festival losing Leonardo the Terrible Monster. And if that's not enough, producers Paul Gagne and myself will do a Q&A session. And if that's not enough, I'll be signing books. And if that's not enough, tough. That's all we got.

Check the museum for a full schedule of events and times.

Open to public with museum admission.


Friday, May 29

Book Expo America
Javitz Center
New York, NY

For those of you attending the big bookseller convention, I'll be around visiting pals and appearing at the following events:

-9:30am-10:30am: BEA autographing, featuring a preview of my upcoming pop-out book, Big Frog Can't Fit In!

-11:00am-12:00noon: a signing at the First Book booth. These guys do amazing work!

1:45-2:45 p.m.

Tea with Children’s Authors. I'll be having tea with attendees and pals Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, Libba Bray, Christopher and Walter Dean Myers, Kate DiCamillo, Jon Scieszka, Tomie dePaola, and more. I think you need to make reservations for this one.

C'est Arrive´!

What a fun day.

I've already mentioned the new French Elephant and Piggie books (starring Emile et Lili).

Well, I just got back from a fun lunch with pals Norton Juster, Tony DiTerlizzi, Jarrett Krosowskaviskamizkaberg, and Jon Lind and look what came in the post:



Awesome. I also kinda love how they're numbered on the top. Here's hoping for more!

Now back to work.

Going off the walls...

It seems like my most popular post on this blog hasn't been about my books or anything; it's been about my dining room's chalkboard walls.

Well, this weekend the family had a big erase and re-draw, so I thought I'd share.

Seeing as it's April, we thought this time the theme should be "waiting for the bus in the rain". A sub theme of "really, really weird" also seemed to emerge. Again, the whole family collaborated (which is a fancy word for drew all over each others' doodles), so it's really hard to tell whose is whose...

Here's a wide shot of the dining room:


The bus stop. Note the fire-beast is first in line. The cloud above him seems to really be enjoying herself...

Speaking of clouds, here's a man with his head in them...

I love the fish in the plane window:


Above the entrance to the living room is always a sort of crest of arms for the room's theme.

Awww, sad cloud.


The creature to the right is a cloud-beast blowing wind and growing legs. He has facial hair, too. The alien is happy because of her force-shield.


Huzzah!

A big family draw is always fun, even if you do it on paper, not walls. Why not give it a try!

Oh, and more good news. Thanks to you, Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed hangs on for the 13th week in the New York Times Bestseller List, at #8. Thanks, you.

Is it Fun or Mental...?

The fine folks over at Reading is Fundamental have started a Read with Kids Challenge that involves, uh, reading with kids!

I actually read with my glasses, but what do I know?

Precious little.

The idea is that you join teams and log your reading and then something cool happens with US Air. More importantly, something cool will happen with you and your kid. You'll have great fun.

Any-hoo, you can join Al Roker's team, but seriously, I think you'd rather join TEAM MO'S PIGEONS, the coolest team with the most awkwardly European grammar.

That's right, I'll be your very own honorary team captain, honorarily demanding better performance, faster reading, and stuff. All of this from the comfort of my own honorarium (which, with the rain we've been getting lately has come in quite handy).

So what are you waiting for, go sign up, join a team (or better yet, make one of your own), and read with a kid!

Because reading is da mental... Fun da mental!

Watch Me...

If you're in the Pioneer Valley, I hope you'll drop by the Holyoke B&N this Friday at 7pm for a reading and signing of Elephant and Piggie's new Watch Me Throw the Ball! and more!

Sad Puppy...

I don't know why this puppy is so sad when Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is #9 on the PW Bestseller list...

Yay New Books!

The old mailbag had a special surprise in it this week:


A copy of Elephant and Piggie's latest adventure ELEPHANTS CANNOT DANCE!

As the jacket copy says, "In Elephants Cannot Dance!, Piggie tries to teach Gerald some new moves. But will Gerald teach Piggie something even more important?"

As always it's kind of weird seeing a completed book. I just re-read it and had fun. I hope you will too.

You can get your copy at your favorite library or bookshop in June!

I wish I could too...

(click to enlarge)

Sorry.

On the plus side, Bloomberg likes Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, which climbs back up to #6 on the New York Times Bestseller list for its 12th week! Thanks for the support!

Spring is here...

Mail Bag it is from...

(click on image to enlarge)

Happy Birthday Pigeon!

The Pigeon is 6 years old today. No (April) foolin'.

Thanks to you, he's still around desperate to drive a bus, get a puppy, have a hot dog by himself, and stay up all night!

To celebrate his first publication in 2003, here's a link to info about the new animated cartoon based on Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! starring myself and Jon Scieszka as the Bus Driver. Mo' info to come!