The mystery revealed!

I've been working on a metal piece (interrupted by travel) for a while now and finally completed it last week.

I'd asked previously to guess what it is.

 

Who said, "Fire-Pit"?

Who said, "Fire-Pit With Multiple Personality Disorder"?

 

Who said, "Fire-Pit That Can Double as a Grill"?

Yup, makin' 'Smores.  The hands on the side of the the Fire Monster hold the marshmallow sticks...

Huzzah!

Welding is fun!

In other great, fun news: thanks to you, Elephant and Piggie's SHOULD I SHARE MY ICE CREAM? spent the week 5 on the New York Times Bestseller list at #8.  Thanks, you! 

 

On a less fun note, I'd like to salute the many, many great booksellers employed by Borders over the years who have lost their jobs due what appears to have been fairly shoddy management.  I sincerely hope they can use their love of books in their next professional lives.

Updates...

It's been a busy week at the studio, although I've had some time to do this:

The mystery piece is almost finished...

 Here are some other highlights from outside the studio:



Thanks to you, Elephant and Piggie's latest adventure, SHOULD I SHARE MY ICE CREAM? spends its 4th week on the New York Times Bestseller list at #5.  Thanks, you.

The Cleveland Plain Dealer has nice things to say about HOORAY FOR AMANDA AND HER ALLIGATOR!




Oh, and here's a recent doodle:

Don't let the Pigeon mary my aunt! (July Fan Mail favorites)

Summer hours begin here at Mo Willems Doodles, which means that I'll try to post something at the end of each week until fall.

So, why not start them off with a big, old mess of fan mail favorites!

Let's start off with some Pigeon story ideas: (as always, you can click on them to enlarge)




 

 

Here are some great Pigeon drawings:

Perhaps my favorite Pigeon drawing of all time.  If the Pigeon is all Id, then this Pigeon is all Pigeon...

 

 

Some writing advice and pictures of the whole gang:

Now I have to make up the rest?!?

A whole class made portraits of me with my characters! (I'm the one with the beard)

Leonardo Freaks Out.

 

The gang's all here...

Awesome large scale projects!

Yay for drawings of teachers!

Now I want to surf on a hot dog!

Huzzah!

If you or your class wants to share some awesomeness, please send it to:

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

Please be patient as it takes a while to get the mail forwarded to me.

Teachers, a cover letter with the grade of your students is appreciated. Please send class letters in one envelope rather than individually.

Please note, I cannot accept packages or books to be signed and returned.  

August Appearance!

August will be a light month in terms of appearances so I can focus on some pentanque work.

On Sunday, August 28th at 1pm I will be speaking and signing at the fantastic Charles Schulz Museum in Santa Rosa, CA



I've visited the museum twice and the staff and Jeannie Schulz couldn't be nicer.  It's a real temple to cartooning.

Please do drop by if you're in the neighborhood.

The schedule for September has planned stops in Pittsburgh and Brooklyn.  I'll be touring in October.

Vote Virginia!

Readers in the state of Virginia can vote for their favorite kids book to be awarded the CARDOZO AWARD FOR CHILDREN’S LITERATURE.

I'm happy to say that CITY DOG, COUNTRY FROG is among the very impressive candidates.

Nelson says, "Vote City Dog!  Woof!"

If you read in Virgina, vote here! (polls close in August)

Horn Book loves HOORAY FOR AMANDA AND HER ALLIGATOR!

The Horn Book gives HOORAY FOR AMANDA AND HER ALLIGATOR! its 4th starred review, saying:

"Willems knows how to keep things interesting and his audience engaged. In short episodic chapters, he develops his characters and their relationship, balancing moments both funny and moving."

(The whole review is here).

I hope you get a chance to read the book and enjoy it as well!

Thanks also to the Horn Book for their recent shout-out for SHOULD I SHARE MY ICE CREAM?

Thanks to you...

Elephant and Piggie spend another week with TWO books on the NYTimes Bestseller list!




SHOULD I SHARE MY ICE CREAM? is #4



and WE ARE IN A BOOK! is #9

Huzzah!  Elephant and Piggie thank you for your support!

Here's a nice article from Salem.net that shows some of that lovely support.

Feeling Super...

Pals, Radio, Doodles, Pentanque...

I sat down yesterday with local radio hosts Bill Newman and Monte Belmonte for a fun chat about books, naming rights for sandwiches, and more.  Take a listen here (interview starts at the 32:30 mark).

Now, for a doodle.  Not one of mine (you can tell because it's so much better), but from my pal New Yorker illustrator Peter DeSeve of the two of us engaged in my favorite (and now his favorite) pastime, Petanque. (click to enlarge)

 I know, I know, WOW.  To show how much I love les joue des boules, here's a sneak peek of this fall's Elephant and Piggie book, HAPPY PIG DAY!, with Piggie enjoying her favorite pastime, pig-tanque: