Super dooper trooper dooper triple top secret sneak peek...

A prototype for this fall's new Pop-Out, Big Frog Can't Fit In!



Cute, huh?


(Just don't tell anyone yet, 'kay?)

Why was it canceled? Shrimpola Cola...

It seems someone has gathered all of the mentions of Shrimpola Cola in my late, unlamented animated series, Sheep in the Big City, and put them together.

With the distance of years (and the refusal of CN to release the stuff on DVD) I'd forgotten just how insane that show was.*

And this stuff wasn't the weirdest part of the show (yikes).



Nor was this:




Or this:



*Not that I regret it; being a rapping shrimp with Joey Mazzarino is great fun and that give away still gives me the giggles.

Thanks...

...to you Elephant and Piggie's latest, Elephants Cannot Dance!, hits the New York Times Bestseller list for its 2nd week, clocking in at #7.

Thanks, you.

Totally Uncool...

Here's an interview about how I aspire to uncoolness.

Something Fishy ...

I've mentioned our chalkboard dining room walls before, both on this blog and NPR.

Here's the latest summertime fish-themed mural courtesy of myself, Mom and the Trixter:













Huzzah! Why not have a family draw yourself?

Extra-sooper-triple sneak peek...

Coming in Winter 2010 for your youngest friends. This...



and...





(Mo info later)

Delhi-lightful...

I get to Delhi about once a decade, but that doesn't mean I don't keep up with what's up in one of my favorite world capitals. Check out the June issue of Delhi's First City Magazine for essays about favorite writers, including one by me about Charles Schulz's influence on my work. At 40 Rp, it's a bargain!

Huzzah!

Elephant and Piggie's brand new adventure, Elephants Cannot Dance! debuts on the New York Times Bestseller list this week at #2!

Thanks!

July Schedule: Chicago!

I take a break from public appearances in the summer to concentrate on book work and occasionally kayak.

But, in July I'm off to Chicago to visit with Librarians and their ilk at the ALA Annual Conference, which is always fun, yet closed to the general public. So, we thought, why not throw in a fun reading for everyone?

Fortunately, the newly renovated Chicago Art Institute is having a Caldecott Exhibit during the summer, so, in conjunction with that, I'll be at the Institute on Friday, July 10 at 3pm reading from Knuffle Bunny Too (which is represented in the show) and new books, followed by a signing.



The following Sunday, July 12, I'll be on the ALA convention hall signing at the Hyperion Booth (2247) starting at 12:30 pm.


Then, of course, there is the Fifth Annual Bookcart Drill Team World Championship at 4pm hosted by yours truly and National Ambassador for Children's Literature, Jon Scieszka. [Room W357] This is always a (surreal) blast.


Then, on Monday, July 13 at 10:30 am is ALSC Award Ceremony [Room: W-196a] where I'll be receiving my Geisel Medal for Are You Ready To Play Outside and give some kind of speech.



Hope to see you in Chicago.


(I'll be back at it in September, visiting NYC, the Brooklyn Book Fest, and Hartford, CT--Mo Mofo later...)

Birthday Crown...

It'll be a fun day all around...

Clip Art...

Well, not art, but it's a Clip Doodle....

(and Salt Lake City's Deseret News recommends my books for the summer and if you're a kid in Delaware, vote Pigeon for Blue Hen!)

A short clip...

To celebrate Father's day the folks at B&N.com are showing the following mini-doc as part of their Book Files series.

Enjoy.



Next week, they'll be focusing on pal Lane Smith.

Pigs Make Me Sneeze! (sneak peek)

As long as we're talking about upcoming October books, let's mention Elephant and Piggie's 10th (!) adventure, Pigs Make Me Sneeze!

Talk about ripped from today's headlines. Actually, I made the book about a year ago, but now that it's (somewhat) timely, I'm thinking of an Elephant and Piggie 401K book.

Either way, I hope you enjoy it when it comes out. You'll get to meet a new friend in the Elephant and Piggie world, Doctor Cat.

Happy Saturday...

Here's a quick little interview and list of favorite books from the Times or your weekend reading pleasure...

BIG FROG CAN'T FIT IN (sneak peek)

As long as we're talking about new books, here's a sneak peek at my first (and probably last) ever pop-out book, Big Frog Can't Fit In!



It's about a frog, a big frog, who, well... can't fit in. See! There's her foot sticking out of the book!

Who will help her?

The pop-out will be on the shelves this October.

I thought animation was laborious!* Pop out books are real hard work. Fortunately, I had a great collaborator in paper engineer Bruce Foster. We spent a long time going back and forth, re-writing, re-designing, re-drawing, re-everything to get this book as good as it could be. I've already given you a sneak peek of some of the early tests and come it's release, I'll so some outtakes (yes this book was so big, it even has outtakes), but for now, here's another sneak peek at a test of one of the mechanisms on a much larger, complicated spread.



I hope you enjoy the final product when it's released this fall.


(*I was right)

Make it an PARTY!

To celebrate the release of Elephant and Piggie's latest, Elephants Cannot Dance, the fine folks over at PigeonPresents.com have just released a brand new Elephant and Piggie Party Kit chock full of games, ideas, coloring pages... In short, everything you need to get your little Elephants dancing.



Just click here, and at the bottom of the page you'll see a link that will download 20 pages of free .pdf goodness for your school, library, store, or just for you (While you're there you can check out event kits and stuff for Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, the Pigeon, and Knuffle Bunny).

This also might be a good time to go and play the Elephant and Piggie Dance Game again, too!

Enjoy!

Elephants Cannot Dance! releases Today!

I gave you guys a sneak peek when I was working on it last year, and now it's in the stores!



In Elephants Cannot Dance! Piggie tries to teach Gerald some new moves. But will Gerald teach Piggie something even more important?

A great new adventure for great old friends!

Publisher's Weekly calls it "an ideal pick for early readers".

Available at your favorite bookshop or library (online here)

And because y'all rock, here's another sneak peek inside:


Rock on!

Summer Hours Have Begun...

Happy summer!

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed is a Parent's Choice!

The fine folks over at the Parent's Choice Awards have always been supportive of my books (and films), and this spring they've bestowed Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed with a Gold Medal!



Yowzer! Thanks!

Wilbur is going to put on a special outfit to celebrate this one.

Check out all the other winners here; it's a good list!

Yay (mini) Foreign editions!

Just in from France, the school and library edition of Guili Lapin (Knuffle Bunny).


Like the mini-me of Picture Books.

Look at them with their big, hardback cousin: Awwww....



Vive La France!

(Oh, and I bet you're wondering what I and a host of other authors have on our summer reading stack. Well, wonder no more...)

The Middle man...

Some of you out there may know that since childhood I've been jealous of syndicated cartoonists. Well, now that I'm older, I've been lucky enough to become pals with a few, including Rhymes With Orange's awesome Hilary Price.

So, weeks ago, I was hanging out at Hilary's studio while she tried to 'break' a cartoon, and I made some unsolicited comments that helped the gag.

Imagine my surprise reading her strip in this Sunday's paper when I noticed a "Thanks Mo!" in the lower left corner.

Thanks, Hilary!

I'm less jealous now.

(Oh, and the Boston Globe thinks Knuffle Bunny is a good summer book)

Advice?

Here's a video made by the folks from Just One More Book shot last fall as part of their "Rock Stars of Reading" series.

The video revolves around the opening of the Illustration Show at Richard Michaelson's Gallery where the intrepid interviewers ask various local authors and illustrators (including yours truly) what advice they have for aspiring readers. My favorite, "Don't quit your day job."

Back from BEA

I just spent the last week or so in NYC catching up with pals, going to meetings, playing petanque with the guys in Bryant Park, and attending various signings, signing copious amounts of books, enjoying dinners, lunches, chats, and events at Book Expo America.

I had an exhausting, yet fun time catching up with pals like Jon Scieszka, Ridley Pearson, Dave Barry, Holly Black, Jeff Kinney, Amy Krouse-Rosenthal, Brian Selznick, Jane Yolen, JJK, Peter McCarty, Patrick McDonnell, Ted and Betsy Lewin, Peter Reynolds, Patricia McCormick, Mr. Warburton, Jon Lind, various librarian, indie bookseller, and journalist pals, and the occasional blogger (and that's just off of the top of my head).

During one of my signings I was lucky enough to meet the cool folks behind Bess the Book Bus, a super cool organization that I've long been a fan of (and occasional contributor to). They basically drive around Florida and give books to kids who wouldn't get books otherwise wouldn't have a home library. That is, except when they're driving around the country doing the same thing. Truly awesome.

You can tell these guys are big softies, 'cuz it looks like they let The Pigeon drive their bus!


Rock on! Thanks to everyone who was so nice to me over the past few days.

And a special thanks to you for helping Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed crawl back up on the New York Times Bestseller list at #10 for week 15.

It is good to be home.