Gerald is careful. Piggie is not.Piggie cannot help smiling. Gerald can.Gerald worries so that Piggie does not have to.Gerald and Piggie are best friends.In A Big Guy Took My Ball! Piggie is devastated when a big guy takes her ball! Gerald is big, too...but is he big enough to help his best friend? Available your favorite local book store or library today! I hope you enjoy the BIG surprise!

Lots to be thankful for this Monday... Thanks to you, THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! spends it's 3rd week on the Indie Bestseller List (#6) and the New York Times Bestseller List (#4) and is joined on the NYT List by LET'S GO FOR A DRIVE! (#8). Thanks, you! Here is a brief interview about humor, the Sid Fleischman Award, and GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE DINOSAURS from SCBWI in which I discuss

A new production of KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL opens on Friday May 24th at Syracuse's Gifford family Theatre (school matinees begin on the 21st) and runs through mid-June. Don't miss the action! The drama! The babbling! The HUGE dancing laundry! Details and tickets are here! If you're in the area, I hope you enjoy the production and tell 'em Mo sent ya!

After a month of travel, May's schedule is a bit lighter. As I announced recently, I will be taking a year off abroad starting this summer. Consequently, these appearances will be my last ones in these locations for at least a year. If you're in the area, please drop by to say hello, and remember to check with the venue regarding signing policies, etc... MAY 25 - 26  PITTSBURGH, PA It's

Monday is a great day to say thanks and report nice news... THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! is spending it's 2nd week on the New York Times Bestseller list at #5 and the Indie Bestseller list at #6! Here's a nice review of THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! in Bookpage. I'm excited to report that GOLDILOCKS & THE THREE DINOSAURS is a finalist for a Kentucky Bluegrass Award, which will be voted on by kids

As readers of the blog know, the Willems family (and guests) spend our dinners doodling on the paper table cloth that we use for our meals. These drawings are real doodles, nothing pre-thought out.  Just fun and letting loose. They're a joy to do and to look at after. Here are some recent doodles: My wife is into abstractions, but this time she framed it. Shapes Love the hair my

Great excitement here at Knuffle Manor as our preview copy of DON'T PIGEONHOLE ME! TWO DECADES OF THE MO WILLEMS SKETCHBOOK has arrived! The project is a labor of love, compliling 20 editions of my annual sketchbooks that I've sent to clients and pals every year over the holidays. Some of the sketchbooks are collections of gag cartoons, some are stories, some are funny, some are serious, some

A nice big box just arrived at Knuffle Manor chock full of the UK/Ireland/Australia/NewZealand edition of DON'T LET THE PIGEON FINISH THIS ACTIVITY BOOK! and the Complex Chinese editions of tons of new Elephant and Piggie Books! They all came out fantastic.  I mean, check out the Chinese for "Ah-Ah-Ah-Choo!" In other lovely news, thanks to you the just released THAT IS NOT A GOOD

For the past 10 years I have answered every fan letter forwarded to me via my publisher(s).  It's always a remarkable experience to see and hear from kids and adults who have either been changed by my work or have gone out and changed my work. For the past several years I've been posting the highlights from each batch of mail. At first the letters came in a trickle. After a few years, they

Thanks to everyone who came out to the appearances in New York (including pal Julianne Moore who read an Elephant & Piggie book with me) to celebrate the Pigeon's 10th Birthday. It was also great to bump into, play petanque with, then do an appearance with Herve Tullet in the NYC. The workshop for Elephant and Piggie's WE ARE IN A PLAY! at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC was great

I'm off to NYC to celebrate The Pigeon's 10th birthday for a couple of days before setting off to Washington DC to continue workshopping this fall's ELEPHANT & PIGGIE'S WE ARE IN A PLAY! for the Kennedy Center. After that I'll be on the road for some personal work followed by speaking and the tour for THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! The full appearance schedule for April is here.  I hope to

As followers of the blog know, the family spends most nights doodling after dinner on a big piece of butcherblock paper that serves as our table cloth. Recently, we had my father and mother-in-law over for a visit and it was fun to see how differently everyone doodled. A great time was had by all. Here they are along with a slew of other recent dinners: (click to enlarge an image) This

The Bay Area Children's Theater begins its 5 week run of KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL Saturday, April 13th. They say: Prepare for the clothes to fly in this musical version of the hilarious picture book about the adventures of toddler Trixie and her beloved stuffed animal, a certain Knuffle Bunny, when they go off to the laundromat with her somewhat distracted dad. You'll love

The first collection of Pigeon Books in their very own bus is released today! "It's a busload of the Pigeon books! Climb on board for three picture books starring the famous beleaguered bird—Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!, and Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!—by New York Times best-selling author/illustrator Mo Willems. Next stop: super fun reading!"

DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!, my first book, was published 10 years ago today to minimal expectations. However, thanks to YOU, the last decade has been quite a ride! I've been asked on occasion if I ever dreamed that the Pigeon would eventually spawn multiple books, activity books, games, toys, apps, animiated films, and fabrics.  The answer is, of course I dreamed that.  I also

School Library Journal gives a starred review to the upcoming picture book THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! calling it  a "charmer", "a study in pacing" and stating that "Children and adults will relish being taken for such a thrilling, suspenseful ride again and again." The Horn Book agrees. In their starred review they say, "There’s a trifecta of reading possibilities here: an energetic storytime,

In anticipation of CHILDREN'S BOOK WEEK, every year the Children's Book Council asks YOU to vote for your favorite childrens book and I'm happy to say that both THE DUCKLING GETS A COOKIE and myself are up for Book of the Year (K-2) and Illustrator of the Year respectively. I'm all for awards that go directly to the kids and ask them who they like to read.  Traditionally, gobs of kids vote

From last year's entry:   Many years ago someone posted on some website that I was, in fact, an Italian who was born on May 24. Consequently, I've been getting birthday wishes in my fan mail every May for years.  In the beginning, I had no idea why. Since most, but not all, Wiki-type sites have corrected this odd error, I have decided that May 24 is my eBirthday. (I even made the

Very much looking forward to this month's appearance schedule, because for the first time in 5 years I'll be back in the United Kingdom to chat with fans and read my books a kids. I'll be spending some of my time during this trip catching up with old pals, so my public slate is limited. Please do come on by if you're in the area; I'd love to see you. LONDON, ENGLAND SATURDAY, MARCH 16 

USA Today has the jump on the new 'sizzle' for the upcoming picture book THAT IS NOT A GOOD IDEA! along with a fun interview on the project.   I hope you enjoy. Also, Kirkus reviews likes the book, calling it "A new offering of guaranteed laughs" and "Pure glee."   The Huffington Post is also looking forward to it's publication. I hope you agree when it comes out this April.

Another great month of great letters!  Here are some of my faves: (click to enlarge images) Always nice to see Cat the Cat! Yes, like your sister... Cake hats! Gang's all here. A post-apocalyptic Pigeon battle to the end! That's because I am an old man... "American Idle" Now, THAT'S a show I would watch. I'll admit, stills from

The Fine Arts Center in Colorado Springs will be presenting a production of KNUFFLE BUNNY: A CAUTIONARY MUSICAL this month. The performances run from March 21st through March 31st. Don't miss the drama! The action!  The laundry! & tell 'em Mo sent ya!

  I'm off to England for a week of visits and appearances.  I hope to see you if you're in London or Oxford next week. The blog will close down, but I'm pretty sure The_Pigeon will continue to tweet from time to time. I'll be back at the end of the month, but only for a short time; April is going to be a busy month with appearances across the country.

April will be a very busy month for me.  I will be traveling, work-shopping Elephant and Piggie's We Are in a Play!, celebrating the Pigeon's 10th Birthday (and my 10th year in publishing), and touring a brand new book with appearances, talks, and even a fancy black-tie gathering. Here is my public appearances schedule (please make sure to check with the venues regarding entrance and signing

I'm settling in from a fun visit to the UK, which included seeing pals, visiting with students, reading at bookstores, discovering museums, and driving around London in a double decker bus with the Pigeon puppet & freaking out pedestrians. Not sure when they'll notice this... Such fun!  Thanks to Walker books for their efforts in making the trip a grand success. A devoted fan in London.