How to use this Page

Last night I received word that Elephant & Piggie's WAITING IS NOT EASY! has been bestowed a 2015 Geisel Honor by the American Library Association.  While this is not my first rodeo, I can honestly say I was floored.  I approach each project as a brand new experiment, building on what I've done previously, but not copying it.  It is flattering in the extreme to see those efforts recognized

UPCOMING! November 4th, 2014 will see the release of Elephant and Piggie's newest adventure, WAITING IS NOT EASY! It sure isn't.  So.... APPEARANCES! Because waiting really, really is not easy, I'll be giving a sneak peek reading and signing of the new Elephant and Piggie adventure 2 days early! DON'T WAIT! Come on by: Sunday, November 2nd at the ERIC CARLE MUSEUM OF PICTURE

I'm so thrilled to finally be able to share this news!

"Tamar Brazis at Abrams has bought author-illustrator Jennifer Thermes's Charles Around the World in a preempt. The picture book biography tells of Charles Darwin's adventures on the HMS Beagle, featuring maps illustrating the route of his travels and his discoveries in each location. It is scheduled for fall 2016. Marietta B. Zacker of Nancy Gallt Literary Agency brokered the deal, which includes a second book, for world English rights."

– from Publishers Weekly Rights Report: Week of September 8, 2014

On Sudden Hill – Review + Q&A with Linda Sarah & Benji Davies.

 COMIX! I'm on sabbatical for the year.  While I will be making various appearances in Europe and beyond, mostly I'll be spending time at the home base in Paris, France drawing and doodling.   You can check out my experiments over at Universal U-Click for a comic-strip-doodle-thingie called PARIS DOODLES . The strip runs drawings, dining room dinner doodles, and photos on weekdays.

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

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

On Tuesday, I visited the Peck School in Holyoke, MA as part of the Friendiversary Celebrations that give a book to every 2nd grader in a participating Title 1 school in New Orleans, Springfield, MA, & Holyoke thanks to the help of First Book. A great time was had reading and answering questions.  Even Mayor Alex Morse dropped by (he had attended Peck school when he was a kid). The full

San Francisco Sketchfest is a huge event that for over a decade has featured truely great comics doing all sorts of improv, interviews, sketch, stand-up, screenings, and now storytime. Yup. Joining the SF Sketchfest lineup this year will be a show entitled Don’t Let The Comedians Do Story Time! that will feature some of your favorite comics turning my books into sketches. It should be a

THE DUCKLING GETS A COOKIE!? spends its 3rd week on the New York Times Bestseller list at... #1! A big thrill.  Thanks to all for the nice words & support.  Especially to Team Mo (Marcia, Mr. Trimmer, Zat, Nellie, Dina, Suzanne, Cher, et. al) who do the work of making sure my books get out there and are as good as they can be. And over at the Indie Bound Bestseller list the

And in case you missed it, here is my last Cul de Sac strip (previous ones are here . The back story is here.)  Here it is before that Stacy Curtis guy got his talented paws on it: What a fun experience playing with Richard's characters!  Thanks to Richard, Stacy, & the fine folks at Universal Syndicate.

DON'T LET THE PIGEON DRIVE THE BUS!, which started out as a sketchbook for clients and pals, was first published as a picture book 9 years ago on this date. The original sketchbook circa 1998 The book, as published (The sticker came later). Thanks to you, over the past 3,287 days, The Pigeon has been thwarted in many adventures and languages in books, films, toys, apps, and mo'.

The Pigeon (and Duckling) present their latest adventure,  THE DUCKLING GETS A COOKIE!?, in a month and we'll be celebrating it in great style with a fun video, a fun tour, and a fun sweepstakes (more info to come on all of that). Until then, enjoy these two nice reviews of the book. First up is School Library Journal, who give the story it's 3rd starred review.  They say: "Confident,

As those of you who visit my FAQ site know, my schedule no longer allows me to do school visits, with the exception of the occasional chat with kids at Title 1 schools.  But when the American School of Dubai contacted my publishers to see if I'd be amenable to drop by, the opportunity was too great to pass up. Firstly, Jack Gantos had a great time there.  Secondly, while much of my favorite

I'm off to talk and draw with students in Dubai for a week or so (really).  It should be great fun as I love that part of the world and have yet to go to Dubai itself (pal Jack Gantos had fun there, but he can have fun anywhere). I'll report on the trip upon my return. And what an incredibly nice send off, Elephant & Piggie's brand new adventure LISTEN TO MY TRUMPET! has debuted this

The fine folks at Publisher's Weekly have given my upcoming THE DUCKLING GETS A COOKIE!? its second starred review.  They say: "Willems packs his punchy dialogue, punctuation, and cartoon visuals with meaning." Thanks, PW! Meanwhile: Over at Scholastic Parent & Child, they list their 100 favorite children's books ever. Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is bestowed "Best Read-Aloud

 I'm thrilled that Elephant & Piggie's I BROKE MY TRUNK! has been named this year's CYBILs winner in the Easy Reader Category! The CYBILs are run by kids book advocates who share their passion for books via the internet in the form of blogging, tweeting, and generally being loud-mouths for books.  So, I couldn't be happier to be recognized by such folks.  Elephant &

The folks at ALA asked me to make a video expressing my thanks for Elephant and Piggie's winning a Geisel Honor for I BROKE MY TRUNK! Unfortunately, I'm simply too busy to help out, but Elephant and Piggie were available. The video might be on an ALA site soon, but until then, here's a sneak peek:

Yesterday was spent with my family visiting the museums and library in Springfield, MA that surround a fabulous series of sculptures featuring Dr Seuss characters and Ted Geisel himself. Upon my return, I really did not expect to get a call from Dallas where the American Library Association is meeting to (among other things) dole out their prestigious awards for the year. The caller promised me

Tomorrow Knuffle Bunny: a Cautionary Musical will begin its final run at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC, where the show opened in May of 2010.  After @ 18 months of travel, the show comes home from Dec. 17 - January 8. There have now been 3 casts for this show and it's amazing and interesting to see how different the show becomes as each set of actors brings their own sense to the show.

It was a great thrill to be asked to draw this fall's Children's Book Section cover for the NYTimes. They really wanted something 'seasonal', so this is what I came up with: The final piece, as seen in your Sunday paper. The scene takes place before Knuffle Bunny Free. You'll note some of my characters sneaking into the scene and (if your Dutch) the carrot for Schimmel. The scene features

I'll be visiting the Apple store in NYC's Upper West Side Saturday morning at 10am (if you're in the neighborhood, stop by).  Why an Apple store, instead of a book shop? Well, for the last million months or so we've been working on a Pigeon Application entitled, DON'T LET THE PIGEON RUN THIS APP! This project is, ironically, an outgrowth of my distaste for 'enhanced' digital books, which I

After a lovely dinner with the Carles the other night, we found ourselves together again for a quick lunch with Eric and the always lovely Bobbie as part of a reciprocal studio tour.  Attached to the business offices, Eric Carle's studio is a joyful romp of color (much like the man himself).  Above his work station, as a reminder, are the lyrics to "It Don't Mean a Thing if it Ain't Got That