Parents (magazine) Likes Big Frog! and BCCB likes mo'!

The December issue of Parents Magazine includes 3 pages of their favorite books of the year, including the pop-out book Big Frog Can't Fit In!

They say:

"It's undoubtedly the funniest pop-up book I've ever seen."

Yowzer! Thanks, Parents!


Also, the fine folks at the Bulletin for the Center for Children's Books have a pdf format gift guide of recommended books which includes Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed


and Elephant and Piggie's Today I Will Fly! along with lots of other great book ideas!


If you head over to the Savannah Morning News, you 'll see that they've put Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed on their best books of year list, too!

Yah-Hoo!

Past, Present, Future...

The fine folks at BWI have an in-depth interview with me about my early career in sketch comedy, my books, and upcoming work.

While you're there, check out all the other great interviews on the site with cool pals like

• Walter Dean Meyers & Christopher Myers
• Kadir Nelson
• Matthew Holm & Jennifer L. Holm
• Laura Amy Schlitz
• Jon Scieszka
• Mark Teague
• Melanie Watt

and more!

Thanks!

Special thanks to Marcia, Zat, Nellie, Steph, Dina, Alessandra, Martha, Michael, Sean, Jennifer, Cher, and the Trixter for helping make this year a fun one for making books.

And thanks to you for your support in 'o9.

Have a happy holiday.

Fishy...

Plus an interview about upcoming projects with School Library Journal.

Knuffle Bunny 2 Sided Puzzles+ Videos + Naked Mole Rat Plush!

I've mentioned them before! Get your cool 36 piece 2-sided Knuffle Bunny Puzzle while they last!


As long as we're talking Knuffle Bunny, you can also get the Carnegie award winning animated version of the first Knuffle Bunny story in a giant new compilation box set of over 50 animated stories.



For the Naked Mole Rat fans, the Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed plush has just arrived.

He's got socks!

Huzzah!

Yay Fan Mail (Pigeon's Pals Edition)

Gangs all here!
That is one sad Gerald!
Love the Naked Mole Rat in the tunnel at the bottom of the picture!


Love me on my thinking chair!

Love the high-heels!
Love everything about those monsters!

This was a very funny story. Turns out animals can't really fly commercially. Kind of like Celebrities...

Huzzah!

We'd love to see your drawings here at the Mo Willems Studio. Drop a line to:

Mo Willems Fan Mail
c/0 Jennifer Crowell
Hyperion Books for Children and Pigeons
114 5th Ave 14th fl. New York, NY 10011

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

(Teachers: a cover letter including the grade you teach is appreciated)

Time is running out...

Less than a week is left in Scholastic's Pigeon Drawing Contest!


Indianapolis' JOIN THE PIGEON CROWD, READ ALOUD initiative ends November 30th! Get reading! Get LOUD!


But, you still have a few months to catch the fabulous 20th Annual Illustration Show at R. Michaelson Gallery in Northampton, MA!

And if you're near Belmont, MA tomorrow you can see a screening of the animated Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! along with a slew of other cool cartoons. [Here's a clip]


If you're near Teaneck, NJ on Sunday, you can see the animated version of Knuffle Bunny, along with a bunch of other cool cartoons! [Here's a clip]

Sooper-Dooper-Early-Sneak-Peek!

The F&G's of a new picture book for early summer 2010, City Dog, Country Frog.

And, yes, you're reading it correctly, illustrated by the great Jon J Muth!

A departure for me that I hope you'll enjoy.

News...

Some nice end of year news:

The Columbus Dispatch has just published their end of the year Best Books list and my first pop-up book, Big Frog Can't Fit In! made the list. They said:

"Willems truly puts the concept of pop-up to work here, inventing a frog too big for the book. Her legs sprawl out from the pages and all seems hopeless until she gets help from some friends: miniature frogs."

Meanwhile over at the News & Observer [Raleigh, North Carolina], their best of the year list includes Big Frog Can't Fit In!

"Only Mo Willems would come up with such a fitting premise for a pop-up - an overlarge frog who can't be contained by book pages."

and Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed

"Wilbur, the naked mole rat, is a fashionista who bucks the buck-naked status quo by asking "why?" Simple line drawings bring complex issues to light."

Huzzah!

Thanks to the editors, experts, and kids who chose their favorites this year!

Break...

On a work break. Catching up with doodles and whatseehoozits...

Please visit PigeonPresents and play a few games...

Screening! Calendars! NYC!

If you're in NYC on Thursday Nov 12 at 7 PM and are looking for a new Calendar and some cartoons, then I've got good news for you. The fine folks at ASIFA-East (the society of animators) are unveiling their new benefit calendar, featuring 12 months of cartoons and drawings by leading East Coast animators (I got to do December).

Additionally, they'll be screening contributors films, including this years animated Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Animator/director Pete List is planning to attend to answer any questions you might have (he may even chat about the upcoming version of The Pigeon Finds a Hotdog!).

Other animators include a who's who of East Coast talent, meaning you'll get to see awesome films by Bill Plympton, John Dilworth, Michael Sporn, Kristy Caracas, Candy Kugel, George Griffin, Emily Hubley, Debra Solomon, Signe Baumane, Jennifer Oxley, and Xeth Feinberg!

(note, many of these films are NOT for the kiddies)

ASIFA-East Calendars and Screening
Thursday Nov 12, 7 PM,

SVA 209 E. 23rd Street

5th floor, room 502.



PLUS: Here's a review of that film in Audio Book form...

"I'm thicsng of geting a wife." PIGEON FAN MAIL!

Here are some of my favorite awesome Pigeon ideas from the old mail bag!









Cheese-lovers BEWARE!



Love the tricked-out wheels!



Excerpt from Don't Let the Pigeon Have a Cookie! (a classroom project)





Huzzah!

We'd love to see your drawings here at the Mo Willems Studio. Drop a line to:

Mo Willems Fan Mail
c/0 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!

(Teachers: a cover letter including the grade you teach is appreciated)

You can see past fan mail here.

PIGEON/HOTDOG GelGEMS!

Now you can re-enact all of your favorite moments from THE PIGEON FINDS A HOT DOG! on your window with this new GelGEMs set that includes 2 Pigeons, a Duckling, Hotdog, and Angry Smudge.

Available at your favorite store that carries GelGEMs or here!

BIG FROG CAN'T FIT IN! NYTimes review

Today's NYTimes has a quick review of my first Pop-Up Book, Big Frog Can't Fit In!

Among the flattering things the review says is:

"The poses (engineering by Bruce Foster) will get surefire laughs at first sight of the frog: legs out, arms up, a panicked expression. No matter what kind of help the reader provides by pulling tabs to make the frog smaller, nothing works, and the center spread of the frog desperate to leap out of her confines, unable to stand it, is a highlight of comic pathos and 3-D design."

I'm blushing.

Unfortunately, then the reviewer, a YA author, complains that the pop-up doesn't have a back-story, like, say, a good YA novel, and asks: "Why does the frog even want to fit into a book?"

Rats. I apologize for forgetting to mention that. I won't go into Big Frog's devastating experiences as an orphan in Poland. Suffice it to say Big Frog wants to be in the book for the same reason most of us do what we do: She needs the health insurance.

I'm off!

To NYC and CT, then back to MA for a few days of work and public appearances! If you're in the neighborhood, drop by and say 'hi'!