See Ya!

Gifts lurking under the tree...

Our gifts tend to be wrapped in paper, then doodled on by family members (much like our walls).


But, beware! There are lions using the x-mas tree as a natural camouflage...

Why not flip the wrapping paper this year and doodle on it?

It's fun.


(and thanks to Ms. Bird for this bit of flattery)

I AM GOING! (to get a Star)

The latest (lastest?*) edition of the Kirkus Reviews has nice things to say about the upcoming Elephant and Piggie adventure I AM GOING!

In a starred review they say:

The two-time (so far) Geisel Medalist continues to set the bar high for beginning-reader achievement in this latest installment of the Elephant & Piggie series.

They also like the ending

...replete with colors that satisfyingly deviate from the series’ limited palette. To paraphrase Gerald: This is a good book.

I AM GOING! hits the shelves at the end of January.

* Thanks to everyone at Kirkus! Elephant and Piggie will miss you.


Other nice recent reviews include the Modesto Bee's reaction to Pigs Make Me Sneeze! and a nice AudioFile review of the Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! audio book.
.

Give a hand to those who get books in kids' hands...

As the year ends, a quick plug for 3 groups that do the same thing in the same way: get books in the hands of kids who otherwise wouldn't get them.

Well stocked libraries (both public and school) are incredibly important for all kids if they are to succeed in a future where the job market may well be as bleak as it is today. But, many studies have shown that having books in the home is one of the greatest indicators of a child's future success both as a worker and a citizen.

With that in mind, I support, have supported, will support* the following organizations:

First Book. The largest organization dedicated to getting the right books in the right hands. What they've done in the past 20 or so years is remarkable.

Reader to Reader. A local organization with national and international reach. They are particularly interested helping in young readers in my hometown of New Orleans. Their logo is also pretty cool, eh?


Bess the Book Bus. The smallest, grass-roots of the three, Bess is an awesome traveling book-giving tour. Bess the Book Bus' is a great place to donate your books. Also, it is the only bus in the world that the Pigeon is actually allowed to drive...
If you're interested in how folks get books into the hands of kids who want to read, the links above are great places to start.


*I assume that you, like me, are consistently being hit up by very worthwhile organizations, so please don't take today's post as another guilt-bomb, rather an opportunity to see how many cool people there are in the country doing awesome work.

Those Canadians...

Thanks to the folks at Indigo.Ca who have declared Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! as one of the best books of the DECADE*, clocking in at #3 after Harry Potter and pal Kate DiCamillo's sublime Desperaux and before Melanie Watts' hilarious Scaredy Squirrel.

Yikes!

Talk about and honor and good company!



Meanwhile, state-side Big Frog Can't Fit In! gets some love here and here, as do Elephant and Piggie.

*For those of you who don't know what a decade is, it's the approximate time it takes to get your driver's license renewed, or half the time it takes to have your cable service problems addressed.

Don't Let the Pigeon Eat Candy!

Don't Let the Pigeon Eat Candy! as read and written by kids.

Awesome.

Thanks, Jeff!

Wimpy Kid and pal Jeff Kinney dropped by TODAY yesterday to chat about his favorite books to give as gifts, including Elephant and Piggie's Are You Ready To Play Outside? At 4:10 you can hear him say some very, very nice things about me and Elephant and Piggie, followed by 3 excellent books by much better authors.

Check it out here.

Now, why would he do something like that? Could it be that I'd threatened to show this picture of us at BEA this spring (either desperately gasping for air or singing from the Jacques Brel song book) if he didn't:


Could be.

Thanks, Jeff!

Fly...

And the folks at Scripps News recommend Big Frog Can't Fit In! for your holiday Pop-up needs.

Pigs Make Me Sneeze! (SLJ Best Book of 09)

The fine folks at School Library Journal (who recently gave Elephant and Piggie's Pigs Make Me Sneeze! a starred review) have now included it on their Best Books of 2009 list!

They say:

The animals’ expressions and body language are a riot, and the friends’ very real emotions are priceless.

Yay!

Thanks, SLJ

Go check the list out, there are some great books in there by pals, perennial favorites, and new stars.


And thanks again to Ambassador Scieszka for the LA Times shout-out for Elephant and Piggie and many pals fabulous books. As he says, "The state of children's books? Thriving. Inspiring." To my mind he's the best Ambassador we've ever had, even if he's the only one so far...

PS: Let's keep it funny...(Yay Fan Mail!)

The fan mailbag keeps getting better and better!

Here's a selection of missives that made me giggle.

Thanks to everyone who wrote in the month!

Let's start off with some of the Pigeon! [click on any image to enlarge]


G. I. Pigeon







from Don't Let the Pigeon Go To the Zoo!

From The Pigeon Wants a Walrus!
From Don't Let the Pigeon Have a Party!
How about some love for Elephant and Piggie (particularly Piggie)?







And some lovely notes:


(I will get right on it...)


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)



!

Phone doodle...

This is what I do on the phone instead of listening...

Oh, and Mr. Ambassador recommends books, including our pals Elephant and Piggie.

And the Pigeon's in style InStyle...


(thanks to jjk and the slug for the heads up)

Good TIMEs!

TIME magazine has just put up their top 10 lists of the year and it's great to see pals and neighbors in the top 10 children's book list (hello Amy, Mac, Adam, Shelly, Diane, Mark, and Jane!).

It's also pretty awesome to see Elephants Can Not Dance! which clocks in at #5!

Now that's a great start to a snow day!

Thanks TIME!

JUST GIVE ME THE PANTS!!!

This made my day.

Mo' fan mail winners soon....

Books make great gifts...

Mo' Stuff!

A quick holiday season plug for my Stuff Blog, which lists any and all the Mo' Stuff available out there including T-shirts, Posters, Toys, and most importantly Books.

New entries include the Naked Mole Rat Stuffed Plush, Pigeon GelGems, and Knuffle Bunny 2-sided Puzzle in addition to upcoming Elephant and Piggie adventures an 2010's new friend Cat the Cat.

This blog is not a merchant site. It merely links to places where Mo Stuff is available (whenever possible it links directly to the producer of the stuff). Don't forget to check with your local stores to see if they carry what you've got your eye on.

And as always, thanks for the support.

Yay Foreign editions!

In the old mailbag this week, French editions of The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!

Huzzah!

Better than me...

Just as I'm putting the finishing touches on next fall's Knuffle Bunny Free, I get this much better idea for the final chapter in the Knuffle Bunny Trilogy:


Dude! Now that's a book!

Reviews that are nothing to sneeze at...

The fine folks at Booklist enjoyed the latest Elephant and Piggie adventure, Pigs Make Me Sneeze!, saying:

"Like a popular TV situation comedy, the combination of the familiar (the expressive comic-book art, the limited vocabulary of only 71 unique words) with the new (a fresh dilemma with the friendship at the core) will please current fans and draw in new ones."

Meanwhile, over at School Library Journal, Pigs Make Me Sneeze! gets a starred review. They say:

"The spare colored-pencil drawings are devoid of background detail. Text is spare too, with speech bubbles against the white pages. Both are simply perfect. ...Willems knows how to create rich humor with few words and minimal art."

Thanks, Booklist and SLJ!