Thanks to you...

Knuffle Bunny Free finishes of a month on the New York Times Bestseller list at #5!


A great thrill and always nice to be surrounded by pals Jon Muth and Lane Smith.

Thanks, you.

There's a new book fan website from Scholastic. If you're interested in the favorite books of myself or other folks, check out our "Book Prints" and put yours in, too.

Costume Redux

Here's a post from last year showing off some awesome costumes based on my characters.

The fine folks at PigeonPresents.com would love to see if anyone is doing that kind of stuff this year. Send 'em a picture via the contact link and happy & safe Halloween!

Baggage Claim has never been so fun!

As a frequent flyer, I can guarantee that Trixie and Knuffle Bunny's new Baggage Claim Game on GoMo.net is much, much, MUCH, more fun that the real thing. Your job is to pick 3 NOT silly things off of the carousel. We were going to put a part in there where no luggage whatsoever comes out for half an hour, but went with the silly stuff instead.

So, go play and poke around the site for mo' fun games!

9 out of 10...

questions answered for Canada's oldest bookstore, Woozles, including a real stumper, "What is a Woozle?". Check it out here.

And Parents Magazine recommends Knuffle Bunny for big kids.

November Appearances...

I'm afraid that November will be a quiet month in terms of public appearances. I will, however, be joining a vast gaggle of super-talented super-fun local authors & illustrators for the R. Michelson Gallery's 21st illustration exhibit on November 7th at 4pm in Northampton, MA.


The show is always a great time. I'll have some new work up including a very large crayon drawing which is both a drawing and test for an upcoming project.

The exhibit runs through the end of the year. If you're in the area, don't miss it!

(and here's a mini review of Knuffle Bunny Free from the Notes from Horn Book)


+++NEW ADDED EVENT+++

I will be reading and signing in New York City at Books of Wonder on Tuesday November 9th at 6pm. If you're in NYC, please do drop by.

3 for 1!

Thanks to you KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE spends its 3rd week at the top of the NYTimes Bestseller list! I also hear that it will top the next PW bestseller list as well. Again, thanks go out to team Knuffle and to my audience.


I've been hearing great stories of laughs and tears from pals, via work, and twitter*. Someone even mentioned a first grade class breaking into applause at Trixie's generosity.

For those of you who worry that you'll have to give up your best friend soon, don't worry. Trixie only did it when and because she was ready. Take your time and hug your Knuffle.

FYI: Here's a picture of the production chart for the book. Each box represents a step for one of the images on each page after the photographs had been taken over the course of 18 months:


Thanks to all.

*Sorry I can't reply to everyone, but your nice words are great to read.

I'm off!

To Fairfax VA for a signing and to see pal Jackie Woodson's Locomotion performed at the Kennedy Center.

Hope to see you there!

Henry Less

Illustrators, what are YOU doing in June?

Pal and all around talent Rebecca Guay is continuing her fantastic Amherst, MA based Illustration Master Class this June with a faculty that includes fantasy illustrators IAIN McCAIG, BORIS VALLEJO, DAN DOSSANTOS, DONATO GIANCOLA, SCOTT FISCHER, IRENE GALLO, JULIE BELL, GREG MANCHESSIAIN McCAIG, BORIS VALLEJO, DAN DOSSANTOS, DONATO GIANCOLA, SCOTT FISCHER, IRENE GALLO, JULIE BELL, GREG MANCHESS includes kids book folk like ADAM REX & JEFF MACK.

There will also be special lectures by James Gurney, pal Peter DeSeve, and myself.

I've heard only spectacular stuff about this week-long intensive illustration workshop. If this is something for you, visit the IMC website and get details. I'm looking forward to it.

Artist Tommy LePlaid...

My first Sesame Street animation premiered this month 17 years ago:




(found on youtube from a fan's account)

2 x 1 = 1!

Thanks to you Knuffle Bunny Free has hit the #1 spot on both the National Indie's Bestseller list and the the New York Times Bestseller list! This is the 2nd week on the top of the Times list and everyone on Team Knuffle is excited. Many thanks again for all the hard work from Team Knuffle and all the awesome support from indie bookstores and you.

See you next week in Fairfax, VA.

Toys!

More fun with mail in the studio.

I've just received my copies of 2 fun, new Pigeon games from the nice folks over at University Games.

First off, the Pigeon's board game, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus Game! where you try to drive your bus around town avoiding that pesky Pigeon!


Inside this Pigeon-y toy is is full matching tile game, which is why it's called The Pigeon Wants a Match Game!

You can see more of the games from previous, sneak peek posts of the board game and the matching game.

I hope you enjoy them if you get a chance to play!

Vote for vid!

The folks at SLJ are having a fan-voted contest for your favorite book video trailers. This adorable student created one is on the docket. Take a look at all the SLJ Trailee Nominees and vote!

Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

Speaking of video, here's a clip of Knuffle Bunny & I chatting on a local news show before the Knuffle Bunny Free Tour. We did a bunch of these. It's always nice when the reporter knows who Moe Williams is.

See you in Providence RI this weekend.

In the mailbag...

I just got a package filled with a few copies of the brand new MO WILLEMS CARTOON COLLECTION featuring the Carnegie Medal winning animated versions of DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS! and KNUFFLE BUNNY, plus the ASIFA East award winning LEONARDO THE TERRIBLE MONSTER and some documentary bonus material.

It's always fun to actually hold something you've been working on for a while. You can get your hands on yours up at your favorite local store, library, Netflix, or here.

It's fun...

...to be home with the family making doodles on the paper table cloth during dinner.








It's also fun to get Cat the Cat mentioned in James Kolchalka's cartoon diary American Elf!

Knuffled out!

I'm back from an exhilarating and exhausting tour. The crowds have all be great both is size and demeanor. It's such a kick to meet kids (and their favorite stuffed friends) so enthusiastic about books.



The biggest news during the tour is that, thanks to your support, Knuffle Bunny Free reached #1 on the New York Times Bestseller list! This is a milestone that can only have happened with the great work and dedication of my editor Alessandra Balzer, agent Marcia Wernick and the fantastic crew of publicists, designers, and production folk at Harper. Thanks to all.

Elephant and Piggie held in there at #9 as well. Granted, the NYT also described the picture book as a comatose medium on the same day, but I'm taking it as a victory before moving onto Vaudeville.
I had some fun extra curricular activities as well, foremost of which was visiting the set of long time pal David Wain's upcoming comedy Wanderlust.


It was co-written with Ken Marino and includes Kerri Kenney, all of whom were sketch comedy pals and rivals during our college days. I'd last hung out with David and Rob Cordry on the set of their TV show Children's Hospital, but this was a shoot of an entirely different magnitude.


It was great to hang with them and meet the other actors, all of whom were super nice and great fun to be with. David's report of the day is here. Check out his blog if you're interested in the process of making features, he's quite generous with details of the day to day workings.




Thanks also to Kevin Seal, Lynn Shelton, Tom Warburton, Bob Boyle, Michael Buckley, Tom Angleberger, Bryan Batt (who went to my high school) & Jon Scieszka for fun dinner conversation.

Mr. Scieszka and I also had fun tearing it up yesterday at a panel during the Southern Book Fest.

Thanks to all for such fun times.

And considering that big Knuffle Bunny was hugged and squeezed and generally manhandled by many thousands of kids, he doesn't look to much worse for wear:


Two more events in October, then back to work!

Oh, and here's a nice article about both Knuffle Bunny Free and City Dog, Country Frog...

And if you're ever in Portland, check out the Heathman Hotel's full library of signed 1st editions of books by guest. KBFree is in there along with pals like Ridley Pearson. A fantastic resource!

Backstage at Knuffle Bunny Musical!

To celebrate the upcoming tour of KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL, the fine folks at the Kennedy Center have created a site featuring video documentaries of the rehearsals, performance clips, and interviews from the original production.

I think it's great fun, and hope you do too.

In more good news, thanks to you, Elephant & Piggie's I AM IN A BOOK! spends it's 2nd week on the New York Times Bestseller list at # 7.

Thanks, you.

The Knuffle Bunny Free tour contines. The crowds have been great, and very nice. It's a thrill to see so many kids bringing their own favorite stuffed animals to the gigs, and I was blown away by the woman who came to the Brooklyn show all the way from Korea! A true fan.

We've gotten some nice press, including this profile and a review or two, but mostly @The_Pigeon has been loving all of the nice things folks have said on twitter. Thanks for the shout-outs and sorry for the tears!

And thanks to all the pals new and old who gave me a fun tour of the Disney Animation Fish Hooks and Phineas and Ferb studios. You guys are doing some cool stuff.

More reports coming forthwith.

Now back to work.

Spoilers...

If you've already read your copy of KNUFFLE BUNNY FREE and are looking for some back story, then the following audio clips might interest you.


Here, I talk about the process of creating the book and the production process:




Here, I chat with my daughter about the differences between the real and literary Trixie and how the Knuffle Bunny Trilogy has effected us both:




You can access both of these (and see more videos about Knuffle Bunny and Cat the Cat) at GoMo.net.