Snapshot (Ho! Ho! Om!)...

I'm off to NYC for the big Book Expo America (you can check out my signing schedule here), so I thought I'd leave you with a snapshot from a recent foray to an antiques fair....

Exhibition Alert...

If you're in Chicago anytime soon, check out the newly expanded Chicago Art Institute's new exhibit Picture Perfect: Art from Caldecott Award Books, 2006-2009. It features art from various Caldecott Medal and Honor winning books of the last five years and includes examples from Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity.

I loved the last exhibit 5 years back and plan to visit when I'm in Chicago this summer for the American Library Association's annual conference.

Clip on my shoulder (4)

Tired of hearing me blather on and on?

Then check out this clip of Mr. Warburton blathering on and on...




Who's he? An old pal from NYC animation days, Mr. W worked for me, directing episodes of my Cartoon Network series Sheep in the Big City. Then, my show was canceled. Then, his Cartoon Network series Codename: Kids Next Door replaced it. Then, he made me work for him writing away in an elevator shaft for four whole seasons! But, I escaped to make books! Ha!

But now... he's making books.

Wait a second, before I know it I'll be back in the elevator shaft!

I'm not sure if I want to plug this guy's work...

Too bad the book looks so good and so funny"



(If you're in the Northeast, check out one of his upcoming appearances. Mr. Warburton love to get everyone drawing, too!)

A tale of two laundromats

It was the best of spin cycles... It was the worst of spin cycles...

As you might suspect, I had a fond attachment to the Knuffle Bunny Laundromat, especially after publication when the M machine became a place of (occasional) pilgrimage.

But times change. A few months after I moved from Brooklyn, I returned for a weekend to attend the Brooklyn Book Festival. Visiting pal Jackie Woodson (who happens to live quite near the laundromat) for a block party, I passed the laundromat and became wistful. When I left the party, the signage was GONE. Replaced by a horrible, typical canvas awning. Turns out the nice guys who owned the joint sold it and the new owners wanted to jazz the place up by replacing anything of aesthetic value with crud.

I vowed never to enter a laundromat again. This was made easier by the fact that I currently have a laundry machine in my house.

Well, walking down a street in my new neighborhood, I passed the aesthetically pleasing Masonic Laundromat (you don't have to be a Mason to go there) and what should I see but this:


Awesome. The joint has their own copy of Knuffle Bunny for those who wait for their laundry.

Now, thanks to some sneaky sneaking they have a stuffed doll as well.

Viva Laundry!

(Unrelated note: thanks to you Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is #11 on the PW Bestseller list. Thanks, you.)

Clip on my shoulder...(3)

Sneak peek week continues! Here's a clip from the a new documentary about my book work entitled Getting To Know Mo Willems available for schools and libraries from Weston Woods.

My schedule has become such that I don't really do school visits anymore, so this doc is the next best thing.

Enjoy.

This is what my life has become...

and I couldn't be happier about it.

[The Mass. State Synchronized Library Cart Competition last week in Springfield, MA. Jon Scieszka and I will see you at Nationals this July at ALA in Chicago.]

PS: Batman didn't seem as engulfed in a private rage and grief as I had been led to believe from all of those comic books. He seemed fairly well adjusted for a guy running around in his underwear.

PPS: You gotta love the Bat-cart.

Clip on my shoulder...(2)

As part of sneak peek week, here's a clip from the animated short Knuffle Bunny Too, available for schools and libraries from Weston Woods. This clip details the dark side of the how to pronounce "Knuffle" debate.

The DVD also includes a short interview with me about the Knuffle Books.

Enjoy!

Comix reference...

It's always fun when my stuff is referenced in comics. This comes from PW magazine. Rock on!

Clip on my shoulder...

Today is the big premier of the animated versions of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny Too, and the live-action documentary Getting To Know Mo at the Eric Carle Museum.

For those of you who can't make it to the show, here's a preview clip of the end credits of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Yup, that's me as the Pigeon improving with National Ambassador for Children's Literature Jon Scieszka as the Bus Driver.

The films are being released by my pals at Weston Woods for schools and libraries and includes a short interview with me about the Pigeon.

Enjoy:



Stay tuned, we'll have more clips in the coming days.

Addedum: I've just returned from the screening, which was good fun. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! felt like "My First Rocky Horror Picture Show" with all the kids yelling at the screen...

It's the Pigeon's world...

Ms. Jordan's awesome 1st graders have some pretty awesome pals. They've taken the Pigeon hundreds of places around the globe, like Venice...

Sydney...
Bejing...

And the SOUTH POLE!
But they still wouldn't let the Pigeon drive the bus!

Thanks guys, what an awesome project.

Middle America, Middle of the Day...

I recently had a half-hour chat with Talk@12's Katherine Perkins on Iowa's Public Radio stations. You can listen in today at noon Central, or when they repost it in a week and a half. It was a fun chat; I hope you enjoy.

The Kids Are Alright...

After hundreds of thousands of votes by (at least) 20 kids, the results are in for this year's Children's Choice Awards and I'm happy to report that The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! won Book of the Year in the k-2 category. A nice way to spend Children's Book Week.



Thanks, kids! (It's double awesome when real, live kids dig my books)

And congrats to pal Jon Muth who took Illustrator of the Year. Well deserved indeed.

I'm sorry to have missed the party hosted by pal Jon Scieszka. You can see the results here.

ADDENDUM: I didn't know Jon was an illustrator. Man, am I going to miss newspapers...

Simulcast News! Sign up now!

Instead of a fall tour this year, we're going to try something a little different: a simulcast visit to my studio for schools and libraries. If you want your organization to be one of the 200 schools and libraries that I'll visit by video (vidsit?) on October 6th, just head over to pigeonpresents.com* and click on either Elephant or Piggie** when they pop up on the homepage.



The plan is for me to walk you through my studio, doodle, show some original drawings from this fall's new Elephant and Piggie adventure Pigs Make Me Sneeze!***, take (a few) questions, and then... well, then there will be an extra super surprise!

I'm certainly looking forward to it and I hope you can drop by and enjoy your vidsit...

ADDENDUM:

If you have specific questions regarding eligibility, please contact the Hyperion folks here. They're in charge of the specifics and will do their best to accommodate you.




* While you're there, go play some games and learn about buses and stuff.

** Then, fill out tedious paperwork! Yay!

*** Talk about "ripped from today's headlines", huh?

Vroom-Vroom Vroomy Vroom-Vroom!

Previously, I mentioned the blogging poll of favorite picture books being run by Fuse 8 where fans of the form submitted their top 10 books of all time and Mme Fuse ran a countdown of the top 100. I was floored when Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale made it on the list, at number 10.

Well, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! clocked in at #5.

Zowie.

I'm thrilled to have made the cut with fans twice and the Pigeon is thrilled to have beat that annoying little girl and her stuffed rabbit...

(Take your time to scroll around, its fun to see so many cool books all in one place)

Yay Fan Mail (Elephant and Piggie Edition)

It's my favorite time: Fan Mail Time!

I've been getting loads of cool stuff lately, so let's open up the old mailbag for a sampling of two great pals, Elephant and Piggie.

[click to enlarge any image]

From There is a Bird on Your Head!

"Fly! Fly! Fly!"

From I Will Surprise My Friend!




And for your further reading pleasure, here is a full Elephant and Piggie adventure! (This one is great: note the awesome end papers)






Of course, the Pigeon isn't too happy about all this attention being given to his rivals...


Huzzah!

Send your fan mail to:

Mo Willems Fan Mail
c/o Jennifer Crowell
Hyperion Books for Children and Pigeons
114 5th Ave 14th fl.
New York, NY 10011

Please be patient, it takes a long time for mail to be forwarded!

Speaking of group drawing...

Here's a (link to a) video of pal Lane Smith and I doing a big group draw 3 years ago in Washington, CT. It was so fun, even the kids joined in.

Huzzah!

Get your pencils ready...

I just had a fun chat with pal Michele Norris over at All Things Considered that is tentatively scheduled to air this afternoon at the end of the first hour of broadcast. While it's not a radio cartoon, there is an assignment for Michele and you.

Enjoy.


Addendum: You can hear the piece, plus bonus audio here. After you've checked out Michele's awesome Curious George and hilarious portrait of myself, why not grab some paper and do some doodling on your own.


Addendum Addendum: Owing to the increase in traffic from this interview, I thought I'd link to my chalkboard dining room and an earlier family and friends draw.



Addendum Addendum Addendum: More audio from the letters section of ATC

Aggle Flaggle Klabble!

Those of you who visit blogs about kids books know that "The Blogger", otherwise known as Fuse 8, has been running down the top 100 picture books ranked from a reader poll of top 10s. It's been an interesting ride seeing which old classics rub shoulders with newer work. Remarkably enough, one of my books, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, has made the list, and more remarkable still at the exalted number 10.

Fuse's entry even includes an adorable scamp adorably scampering all over my copyright to hilarious effect.

Pretty cool.

I'm flattered.

Do check out the whole list, which while highly unscientific, is facinating. There are some really great books in there.

UK news flash...

To all our British friends:

The UK version of Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed has been released and the Guardian likes it.

The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog! is 5 years old!

The Pigeon's 2nd adventure (the Duckling's 1st) was published 5 years ago this month!

Thanks to your support they're both still around.