MotherReader

Like many others I attended Book Expo America, but unlike many others I needed another week to recover before writing about it. I also needed a full week to get my voice back, but that's another part of the story.

Being from the Washington, DC area I was able to take advantage of a full range of choices of express bus services to New York, including Bolt Bus which drops off and picks up a block from Javits. We had a winner! The easy drop off before 2:00p.m. on Wednesday got me registered at BEA with my suitcase checked and still in time to make one of my priority author signing sessions, Tim Federle at 2:30p.m. I love his books, his Twitter feed, and - from the one time I chatted with him in Alexandria - him, so I was excited to get his new picture book, Tommy Can't Stop. Though I thought I would miss it, I had enough time to get Space Taxi: Archie Takes Flight signed by Wendy Mass and Michael Brawer. I also hopped in line to pick up Bad Kitty Goes to the Vet, by Nick Bruel - who signs with a little kitty drawing. I had added a book selection for my singer teen, VIP: I'm With the Band, by Jen Calonita.

With four great author signings done so quickly, I couldn't believe my luck when a book that I had seen online and hoped to purchase happened to be available at the next table. That was pretty cool. So I brought home a little bit of self-help in Healthy Brain, Happy Life by Wendy Suzuki. I also picked up an abandoned copy of The Song Machine, just because I could.

I had allotted myself time to wait in line for Mo Willems and Tony DiTerlizzi, and wait I did. But it wasn't as bad as I expected - especially given that I ran into blogger and online buddy Emily Mitchell. We chatted a bit, the line moved quickly, and I got my book, poster and photo opportunity. The Story of Diva and Flea takes place in Paris, and the poster has that French feeling to it. Mo looked good from his year on sabbatical, which I believe I told him. Afterwards I got to talk more with Emily and her co-workers, and even got another brief chat with Mo about our kids. Almost like a normal person would do.
I'm sure I picked up a few more books along the way, but I was trying to stick to the signings where I wouldn't talk as much and save my strained vocal cords. My evening was a low-key visit with my rookie Liz Burns and our friend Jackie Parker-Robinson and her husband, Kyle. Then an early bedtime for two big days coming...

Killing time on New Year's Eve, an email reminder about Donors Choose sent me looking around the site. As I always do there, I searched for book projects in either Virginia or D.C., not committed to giving a specific amount as much as seeing what might connect. I was caught by this request looking for specific beginning reader titles:

These books, by Jan Thomas and Mo Willems, are ones that young readers will read again and again and again. The stories are hilarious, the illustrations are simple, but brilliant. The vocabulary and wording are accessible. These are the first books my students search for when we visit the library each week.

My students are willing to struggle and work hard to become readers. They love books, both independently and when shared. These books will ensure that every student can find a copy of a book they want to read.

Oh yeah, I can connect to a book list of Mo Willems titles. Without a second thought, I donated enough to buy all the Elephant & Piggie series (plus a contribution to Donors Choose). Others donated enough for the rest of the books, meaning that the class will be able to enjoy them very soon. The teacher's thank you note made me so happy, so I'll share it too:

I am so excited to return to school tomorrow and tell my students that we will soon be receiving a huge box full of Jan Thomas and Mo Willems' books. I know these titles will all be in their book boxes as soon as they arrive in our classroom. These two authors are favorites of everyone in our class (including me) so these books will be highly anticipated and much loved. Thank you so much for your generosity towards my students and myself. These emerging readers will grow quickly and with great excitement in their reading thanks to you.

What a great way to begin a new year! Giving books to kids who want, need, and love them!

Those who follow this blog know that I have a longtime relationship with Mo Willems... assuming that you interpret “relationship” to allow for a certain stalker-like quality. So I was excited to hear that he had created an app for his Pigeon character, and was happy to check it out for the blog readership. It’s also a MotherReader milestone — not only my first review of an app, but my first app altogether.

My virgin state allowed me to give an interesting perspective, in that I can approach the app with the same technical awareness as that of a child. Honestly, probably less than that of most tech-savy kids today. But it also means that you may need to excuse my less-than-perfect terminology. For instance, do I say that the app begins? (Yeah, I’ll go with it.)

When the app begins, the user is given the choices of “Create Your Own Story,” “Draw the Pigeon,” or “Boring Stuff.” I first selected “Boring Stuff,” figuring it might include the instructions that a novice like me might need — which it did indeed. Once I was suitably informed, I turned to the drawing option, which was introduced by Mo Willems himself, who told me, “You and I are going to do something very cool...”

Dude! We’re going to grab some Jack Daniels, hitchhike to Texas, and pants Rick Perry!!???

Turns out that we were going to draw the Pigeon together, which I suppose is also cool. The instructions were clear and made memorable by his personalizing touch, like explaining that the Pigeon’s beak is drawn by making an M for “Mo” or W for “Willems.” Making a respectable-looking drawing on the iPhone was not easy, though kids probably won’t mind (and it might be easier on the larger iPad). The resulting picture can be saved to use in the stories. (There’s also an option for drawing freely on the screen.)

Moving on to the stories, I was presented with three ways to proceed. Egg will start a story based on some interwoven elements randomly selected — just shake the Pigeon (that is, shake the iPhone) and you’re off and running. Chick gives the reader a series of choices between three things that will be incorporated into the story. So the reader will be asked to choose a food or a game or a character or a title for the book, all of which will be woven together. There were some standout choices that had humor built in, like the vegetarian chile con carne. (See, it’s funny because con carne means “with meat”!) There were several choices of title, from a standard “Don’t Let the Pigeon Rule the World” to a silly “Don’t Let the Pigeon Wear Purple Underwear.” It wasn’t clear how many options there were in total, though three were presented each time.

There is a Mad Libs element to it all, as some phrases fit into the storyline with more ease than others. When the Pigeon talks about putting you in a room full of smelly socks, it makes sense. A room full of armpits is a little more surreal. But generally, it pretty much works.

But the best option for play and humor is Big Pigeon, where the reader can record the answer to any of the incorporated elements, and the pigeon will say them in the context of the story. This is where TeenReader and I had a blast. After trying it out once, and finding that the Pigeon attributed the change in his “voice” to needing a throat lozenge, Teen had to name the next story Don’t Let the Pigeon Have a Throat Lozenge. (See, it’s funny because the pigeon ends with the very thing we told him not to do!) And we just got sillier after that, topping out with a political tale, Don’t Let the Pigeon Pants Rick Perry, where the pigeon promised us a truckload of tequila, offered to play Occupy Wall Street with us, and informed us that Herman Cain would let him do it.

We had a lot of fun with the game — with nary a kid around us — so it certainly has promise for its target audience of actual children. Personally, I’m not crazy about shaking the device to start the story, as whenever I see a young child shaking an iPhone I get very nervous. I’d also like to see more in the app. More choices of fill-in elements, and more variations in the way the whole story comes together. But I don’t know apps, so maybe I’m dreaming a little big here. At $6.99 it also seemed a bit pricey compared to other book apps, but I do admit that I tend toward the stingy and have just the vaguest notion of what a reasonable price point might be for this sort of app. (A free copy was provided to me for review.)

Overall the Pigeon app is a lot of fun, and can keep the adults tossing out new titles long after the app play is done, from TeenReader’s woeful Don’t Let the Pigeon Take Precalculus to the existential Don’t Let the Pigeon Die Alone.

Now it’s your turn. What fun titles — particularly adult but not “adult” — would you like the Pigeon to try? Put them in the comments! TeenReader and I will pick our funniest favorite in a completely subjective way and give the winner a free copy of the app. The contest will end at 8:00 p.m. EST on Thursday, November 17th, with the winner announced the next day. Have fun!

While I had other things to share today, I couldn’t resist the chance to talk about Mo Willems without pants.

That didn’t come out right, did it?

Mo Willems made a video for the Children’s Choice Book Awards featuring the rockstar kidlit author giving advice to the current host, Jarrett J. Krosoczka, in which he mispronounces his friend’s name — and then goes on to mispronounce the names of other well-known authors in children’s literature. Given that I had to go look up the spelling of Krosoczka’s name while writing this post, I’m in on the funny. Made me laugh. But then Mo goes a step further in the video, and I love him for it. Way to commit to the bit! See the video at Mo Willems Doodles.

As to the idea that the video was not shown at the CBC awards because of a complaint on the pre-release Internet posting (Wow! Someone offended on the Internet? How can it be?), I can only say one thing: Really? I mean, really — really?

Edited to add: Apparently yes, really. Story confirmed. Hello, hypocrisy.

Technically, you haven’t crashed the premiere party if you didn’t eat the cake. Which means that my longer-than-average stay following the Kennedy Center opening of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical was still within the bounds of decorum. Probably. But let’s go back to the beginning.

As if being an rock-star author/illustrator of children’s books weren’t enough for this millenium, Mo Willems also wrote a musical based on his best-selling, award-winning book, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale. This little musical opened at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. As it so happens, I live near Washington, D.C., and certainly could not miss such a musical. Which is how I found myself on the first Saturday in May at an altogether special event.

My fifth grader and I were excited to go — both loving Knuffle Bunny, musicals, and Mo. I had read about about the musical on Mo’s blog, and was lucky enough to get tickets to the opening night performance. Because maybe Mo mentioned that was the night he would be attending the play. As we went in, I ran into Sue Corbett writing for Publishers Weekly and Dawn Mooney from 5 Minutes for Books. They had better seats than I did.

But they may have missed what I saw: Mo and family sitting in a fairly random place in the theater among all the “regular people.” No roped-off section for the Willems clan. There was something nice about seeing the writer of such a fantastic project sitting out among the audience. Even more sweet as I saw the kisses and hugs shared among the family as the actors took their bows.

My daughter and I enjoyed the musical, and were excited about the possibility of sharing that with the Man of the Hour. We extended our congratulations — along with our fellow bloggers — as we held up traffic in the aisles. I knew that my daughter wanted to say hello to Trixie, as she shared the stage with her in September and felt like they were now friends. Trixie was delightful and sweet, introducing us to her friend. Who was Jacqueline Woodson’s daughter. Yes, I believe I know of that author. So I met Jacqueline Woodson, as my daughter offered her daughter — and Trixie — Silly Bandz.

As we made our way up the aisle — now being urged along by ushers — we had a nice chat about New York City and visiting D.C. and drawing on walls. I talked briefly with Cheryl Willems as her husband created a bottleneck leaving the theater with everyone wanting to talk to him. Having done so — and trying to recognize some sense of boundaries in not doing so again — I was now hoping to catch an actor that my husband knows to give congrats on the great show.
It was still crowded getting out of the theater, and it didn’t really occur to me to think why until I saw the large cake and glasses of champagne. That’s when it hit me that the only people who were still there were the ones celebrating the opening performance of the show. I couldn’t resist a quick pic of the cake, but before we could make our way through the rest of the tightly packed room the speeches started. I will admit, that did put us right on the edge of crashing the party, but it would have been much more obvious and rude to leave at that point. So we listened politely, clapped appropriately, and then left quietly.

And as I said, I don’t think it can count as crashing if we didn’t eat the cake. At least, that’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

For more on the musical itself, head over to Booklights, where I have a review and background stories. And quotes. And maybe even a picture of like the actual play or something.

Edited to add the text originally published at Booklights.

When the folks at the Kennedy Center had an idea to do a show based on the award-winning book Knuffle Bunny, Mo Willems didn't hesitate. Okay, maybe he hesitated, but he certainly accepted the challenge to write the script and lyrics of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical. For over two years he worked with more than thirty people to turn the picture book into a one-hour family musical.

With Grammy Award winning composer Michael Silversher taking on the music, Mo worked most closely on the script with dramaturge Megan Alrutz. As he notes on his blog, "If you ever get the chance to get your own Dramaturge, do it! They're awesome. The thought of losing my Dramaturge to other dramaturgically needy projects in the future fills me with dread. And, as long as you're getting a Dramaturge, get Megan. She rocks." Workshops and rehearsals with the cast and crew helped to further shape the musical with even additional tweaking even on the Friday before the performance.

The musical certainly feels like a Mo Willems production. Fans will instantly recognize the background projected on the stage and even the clothes the characters are wearing as being from the book. The plot is the same, the father takes his young daughter to the laundromat and misplaces her beloved Knuffle Bunny, causing a toddler meltdown of miscommunication and complete frustration.

For the musical, the part of Trixie is played by Stephanie D'Abruzzo, an old pal from Mo's Sesame Street and Sheep in the Big City days. She dives into the tough role, portraying Trixie's garbled speech and active imagination with a childlike enthusiasm. Michael John Casey gives the audience a fantastic Dad, who is ready to take on anything and make it fun. Erika Rose is the knowing Mom, and Matthew McGloin and Gia Mora handle the other characters as Puppeteers.

The children in the audience laughed during the show, and there is much for adults to appreciate as well. Trixie's inability to communicate creates much of the humor of the book and the musical, and yet it's also a real source of frustration and helplessness for both father and daughter. The musical gave an opportunity to explore this deeper connection to our own feelings of inadequacy as parents. That point when we recognize that our child has ideas and an individually that we can't always comprehend or even recognize.

This theme is evident as the father sings about all the things that he will teach his daughter, while not noticing her already intense fascination with the world around her. In fact as she expresses delight in a friendly pigeon - yes, that pigeon - her father scares the bird away as a "dirty rat with wings." As poor Trixie sings a sad song of toddler gibberish - complete with boa and spotlight - about the loss of her stuffed friend, her father is lost in misunderstanding. And yet as he feels that frustration of not getting it and not doing it right, he still is able to tap into what is most important - the love that he feels for his little girl. Of course, it all turns out fine at the end.

Overall, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical is a fun show for kids and their adults, with catchy music and lots of laughs along with a sentimental spirit. And what struck Mo Willems as a member of the audience? " I loved holding my daughter's hand during the song "Really, Really Love You." Best moment by far."

The show travels for eighteen months or so before returning to Kennedy Center next year, so look to catch a performance at a theater near you. If you're excited about the possibility of another Mo musical, be encouraged that he's talking about ways to work together more with the group, having enjoyed this experience so much. Whatever it is or may be, count me in the audience.

I haven’t waxed poetic on Mo Willems since the October National Book Festival, where my daughter got to play Piggie on stage. (Watch it here at the twelve minute mark!) Perhaps being noted at BEA as his number one stalker to another author made me a bit more wary with regard to my attentions. Seriously, I could not have planned running into him at BEA, but try explaining that after three years’ worth of blogging adoration. (By the way, if you’re going to Book Expo America and want to meet up with other bloggers, make a plan. The place is huge, and “See you there” will not cut it.)

But my relative silence on Mr. Willems does not mean that I find him any less Mo-tastic. In just the past month, he subbed on a weekly comic strip (fulfilling his lifelong dream), put out a new easier easy reader in Cat the Cat (I haven’t seen it yet, but I’ve been very busy), won a Cybils Award (not my category — hold all accusations of favoritism), supervised the making of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Musical at the Kennedy Center in D.C. (yes, I have tickets; no, he didn’t invite me personally), and still had time to draw on the walls with cool people (not me). So today, in tribute to a man who does more in one month than I can do in ten years, ABC storytime is devoted to Mo Willems’ books, which work amazing well with...


Book: The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, by Mo Willems

Song: “Puppy in the Window”

How much is that puppy in the window? (arf! arf!)
The one with the waggly tail
How much is that puppy in the window? (arf! arf!)
I do hope that puppy’s for sale.
(Yes, I changed “doggie” to “puppy.” BTW, the tune is here.)

Book: Time to Say “Please”, by Mo Willems

Song: “Please and Thank You”

Say please and thank you,
They’re called the magic words,
If you want nice things to happen,
They’re the words that should be heard.
Remember please and thank you,
’Cause they’re the magic words.
Use ’em in the morning, noon, and night,
’Cause it’s a great way to be polite!
Please and thank you,
They’re the magic words.
(Yes, it’s the Barney song. Sorry.)

Book: Pigs Make Me Sneeze, by Mo Willems

Fingerplay: “This Little Piggie”

This little piggie went to market.
This little piggie stayed home.
This little piggie had roast beef.
This little piggie had none.
And this little piggie went...
Wee, wee, wee all the way home.
(Use fingers or toes for piggies.)

Book: Time to Pee! by Mo Willems — or another Pigeon or Elephant & Piggie book if you want to go with the safer choice.

Alternate Books: If you choose not to go with the all-Mo storytime, here are a few other choices: Pssst! by Adam Rex; Mr. Pusskins and Little Whiskers, by Sam Lloyd; Pilot Pups, by Michelle Meadows; A Penguin Story, by Antoinette Portis

Feel free to add other favorite P books — or Mo adoration — to the comments.

The webcasts from the National Book Festival are up, including the one of Mo Willems with my daughter as Piggie! If you want watch that part — and of course you do — it is about halfway through the webcast, at the twelve-minute mark. You’ll also see Mo’s daughter Trixie of Knuffle Bunny fame. Watch it and come back and be excited with me.

Today my post over at Booklights covers picture books about babies. Go add some favorites to the comments.

The interpretations of the Federal Trade Commission guidelines are making things look either HUGE or no big deal for book bloggers, so we’ll be waiting to see how it shakes out. There is a great post at Boston Bibliophile with a lawyer’s viewpoint, and Chasing Ray is asking for — and receiving — responses from publishers. What are you hearing around the interwebs?

I can’t wait for the webcasts to be up from the National Book Festival, because that’s where you’ll see MY DAUGHTER reading/acting Today I Will Fly with MO WILLEMS and his daughter TRIXIE! I know!!! It’s like a Mo-fan dream come true. Even better really, because as a parent, I enjoy the successes and high points of my children even more than my own. It makes my heart burst. It’s why I kept pushing her amazing singing performance, because it gave me such joy I wanted to share it.

But back to Mo. I went to the National Book Festival with both of my daughters, along with a friend and her teen daughter. We started off with the author signings — which were packed. The teens wanted to go to Jeff Kinney, but his line was already closed off fifteen minutes before his signing time had started. They decided to try for Rick Riordan, whose line was also huge, but was still open at least. The fifth grader had no interest, but wanted to wait in the Mo Willems line. I was actually the one who was ready to bag it, because the line was long and it didn’t look like we’d get to the front in time. I reminded her that we had seen him in January and that we’d see his reading session, but she really wanted to wait. And so we did.

We were among the last people to get our book signed. Mo did recognize me with my nickname, “Blogger!” Erin and I each got an Elephant and Piggie book signed, and said we’d see him at his reading later. With a few people behind us and Mo’s handler waiting to the side, it wasn’t the time for deep conversation or even a photo.

Fast-forward to the reading an hour later. Actually, not much happened, so here it is: The teens almost got their books signed by Rick Riordan, but he had to leave just before he got to them. So they decided to go directly to the teen tent so they could definitely see his reading at 3:15. The fifth grader and I caught Holly Black and Tony DiTerlizzi at the very tail end of their signing, and then went to their reading at the children’s tent. They were engaging presenters and kept the audience laughing.

Okay, so now we’re at the Mo Willems reading time and I see him on stage with his helper. They’re looking around the audience and I figure that they probably need a few kids to give drawing ideas or flip pages or hold a book or something. I tell my daughter that Mo’s looking around, and when he looks her way she waves at him. He waves her up. Wow! She goes to the stage, he talks to her for a bit, she agrees to something, and stands off to the back of the stage.

Mo starts his reading talking about the mom who says that her son wants to be a writer when he grows up. Mo replies, to all of us, “Your child is already a writer. He wants to get published.” Because children are natural writers and illustrators. Then Mo reads The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed to the crowd. Then he talks about how he means for his books to be played, not just read. So he is going to share Today I Will Fly with him as Gerald the Elephant and my Erin as Piggie! OMG! Trixie played the barking dog and Dawn played the bird. But my daughter — my daughter — was Piggie! She’s an actress and (quite fittingly this time) a ham anyway, so she did a great reading in front of like two hundred people with no fear and no holding back. It was so exciting!

I ran to the back as soon as she was done to give her a hug and tell her what a fantastic job she had done. I talked to Dawn a bit, said hi to Trixie, and caught Mo for a quick picture before he was off to his next event. I’m not even sure if I thanked him for giving Erin that wonderful opportunity, so if not (or again), THANK YOU, MO!


That seems like enough National Book Festival for today, so tomorrow I’ll share information from the Megan McDonald, Jeff Kinney, and Judy Blume sessions. Plus I’ll have a report from TeenReader on Rick Riordan and the elusive Jeff Kinney autograph.

Ah, the ALSC and YALSA lists. These are a few of my favorite things. In the ALSC 2009 Notable Children’s Books, let me note the inclusion of a couple of picture books that made the Cybils short list. Namely, A Visitor for Bear, How to Heal a Broken Wing, and Abe Lincoln Crosses a Creek. I can’t believe that Wabi Sabi didn’t make this list either. What did Ed Young do to librarians to deserve this total shut-out. Moon them?

2009 Best Books for Young Adults has some great selections — some of which I’ve even read. Hats off to Portland KidLit Conference attendee Christine Fletcher for getting a spot on the Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults with Ten Cents a Dance. Not too shabby.

Another of my favorite things, along with ALA booklists and whiskers on kittens, is my statcounter, because occasionally the keyword searches amuse me. Today the keywords at the top of my statistics — with ten uses — was this search: Is Mo Willems married? Now, I can see wanting to know such a thing. But I can’t figure out if ten women had to find that out today or just one woman needed to know it with a compulsive certainty. (In case that comes up again, yes, Mo Willems is married with a little girl and a house in Massachusetts.)

I haven’t written about Mo Willems for a while. Partially because I didn’t want to seem completely obsessed — and partially because of the “Cease and Desist” order. I didn’t say much about The Pigeon Wants a Puppy, even though I loved it. I stayed quiet as the new Elephant and Piggie books came out, even though I had waxed poetic about the first ones with the ladies at 7-Imp. I didn’t even squee on this blog about getting the Mo Willems sketchbook for 2009 as a Christmas card (though I did squee internally and it was quite painful). But now, with a new stand-alone book out and with the restraining order expired, it was time to go to a Mo book signing.

I brought the fourth grader so I could look legit. We got to the Barnes and Noble about thirty minutes early and it was already packed. I bought the book, The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, and got number 74 for the signing. Eventually they would give out tickets past two hundred. And each ticket was per family. That’s a lot of fans.

Since there were so many people there, it was hard to find a good place to see Mo (and be seen by Mo). I had the kid sit on the floor up front. In fact, right up front, since we came over from the side instead of from the back like normal people. In retrospect, this seems quite rude. Oh, well. While most of the adults were standing in the back, I managed to find a place to the side behind a stationary display and adjusted my view by wrenching the sign off the top. Perfect. (I put it back later.)

I talked with a mom who voiced her concern that her son wouldn’t stop reading his Star Wars book when Mo came out. As I had a similar concern that my daughter wouldn’t remove her iPod headphones, I saved us both my reminding our kids. They took it well. The mom turned out to be a blogger too, which I wouldn’t find out until later, when she commented here. She got arguably the best picture of the reading — maybe of any book signing ever.

Mo was introduced by the store manager, who requested no flash photography or videotaping. Oh, well. Mo read from The Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and was wonderful. The book was funny and enjoyable. Mo was a delightfully expressive reader. I actually found it hard to concentrate since I was trying to get my camera to take pictures without flash but in focus. Not easy.

He took questions from the kids, and my clever darling asked the first one, which was “What was your inspiration in writing this book?” Mo said that it was a good question (That’s my kid!) and said that his inspiration comes in the mail each month, and “it’s called a mortgage.” The adults all laughed. Another child asked how you say Knuffle Bunny, and Mo replied, “That all depends on how you pronounce it.” Again, laughter. He went on to say that he pronounced the hard K, because it comes from a Dutch word, but that whoever reads it can pronounce it however they want — just not around him. Another child asked if he was the man in the Pigeon books. Mo answered that the man in the books is the bus driver, but added, “If anyone in the pigeon books is me... it’s the pigeon, unfortunately.”

After the questions, Mo read from his new Elephant and Piggie book, Are You Ready to Play Outside? Again, great book, great presentation. Then it was time for the signing. As I grabbed my kid from the front before she got trampled, I was able to catch Mo’s eye. He did not — as you might guess — duck and run, but instead said, approximately, “Hey! Blogger!” He shook my daughter’s hand, and said it was nice to see us there. I told him that we were glad that we could make it and we’d get in line for our signing. Notice the perfect decorum displayed there.

At our turn, my daughter asked when the Pigeon was going to get clothes, now that the Mole Rat had them. Mo replied that the Pigeon spends all his money on bus-driving lessons. I had Mo sign my sketchbook. (He signed it, “Rock On Mo Reader! Thanx for the support! MO!”) I asked how he was liking his new home outside the city. He said that he did like it, and that there were lots of children in the neighborhood for his daughter. I said that it was good to see him, and he said it was good to see me too (Squeee!) and we shook hands.

I had a contact high for an hour. I think I’m addicted. Again.

While there were definite gasps and applause when The Invention of Hugo Cabret won the Caldecott gold, I’m sure that there were also cheers for the two medals Mo Willems’ books received. Personally, I wasn’t able to hear them, since I was at home cheering, “Yeah! Yeah!” like it was a football game in the fourth quarter.

In dashing off a note of congratulations to Mo, I slipped in that I might want to ask a few questions. Gracious man that he is — and wise as well — he shared some thoughts about the awards.

---

When did you get the call and what did you say? And then when did you get the second call and what did you say?

I can’t really recall. Let’s assume I was witty and clever and charming and modest and kind and thoughtful and erudite with clear diction on one call and a dumb jackass on the other, shall we?¹

Looking around the previous Caldecott winners, I can’t find another example of a book sequel getting a nod. What do you think sets Knuffle Bunny Too apart for this Caldecott first?

Bemelmans did it for Madeline (Honor, ’39) and Madeline’s Rescue (Medal, ’54).

As for what set my books apart for this “Caldecott second,” it’s unfair to ask me to judge what judges judged. I’m just glad they liked ’em...

I have to admit that the Geisel award wasn’t on my radar screen. Was it something you had in your sights for the Elephant and Piggie series?

I was really shooting for the Ulysses Award, or as it’s known in the vernacular, the “Hard Reader Medal”.² This über-prestigious distinction is given annually to the least comprehensible book for humans published by a University Press.³

I thought I was a shoo-in as the “Elephant” in the Elephant and Piggie books is a reference to pre-industrial mythology as contrived in the post-impressionist period (duh), while the “Piggie” represents a pig (oink).

My disappointment is tempered by the fact that I’m not Irish.

You’ve won Caldecotts, a Carnegie Medal, and six Emmy Awards. As a well-known children’s author/illustrator, how can you get the Geisel Award noticed in the area of early literacy?

That’s a question for Herr Ambassador.

The Geisel? The what? You know, the Theodor Seuss Geisel award for beginning readers. Particularly important this year because it goes to There’s a Bird on Your Head, by Mo Willems. Didn’t I say that was my favorite of the Elephant and Piggie books? Oh, yes I did. Go Mo!

The Caldecott Honor Awards go to Henry’s Freedom Box, illustrated by Kadir Nelson; First the Egg, written and illustrated by Laura Vaccaro Seeger; The Wall, written and illustrated by Peter Sis; and... OMG, Knuffle Bunny Too, written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Let’s pause for a moment to reflect on that listing. No gold or silver for Let It Shine, but it did win the Coretta Scott King illustrator award, so maybe that will do. (Not really, but whatcha gonna do?)

But the surprise winner of the Caldecott, the award selection that will have everyone talking is... The Invention of Hugo Cabret, by Brian Selznick. The cheers and applause were truly notable during the announcement of a book that everyone assumed would be shut out by being neither here nor there in terms of award categories. I know someone who will be pretty happy. I’m ecstatic. It truly deserved to win.

Now the Newbery Honor Awards have some familiar titles, namely Elijiah of Buxton, by Christopher Paul Curtis; The Wednesday Wars, by Gary D. Schmidt; and Feathers, by Jacqueline Woodson. The winner has not been a very big book outside the kidlitosphere, but it’s still a surprise to me (though not to Fuse#8, who totally predicted the whole list), Good Masters! Sweet Ladies!: Voices from a Medieval Village, by Laura Amy Schlitz and Robert Byrd.

Shut out from the awards was the much-praised The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, but I can guess that it was too mature for the Newbery and too young for the Printz. In any case, it did win the National Book Award. There’s better balance in the Newbery shortlist than last year’s list, which was all Girls In Trouble.

A complete list of all of the ALA awards is available here. Reactions, anyone?

If you’re going to buy your beginning reader one present this holiday season… then buy Magnetix! (One present? C’mon.) Okay, but if you’re going to buy him or her, say, two or three presents, then certainly consider the Elephant & Piggie series from Mo Willems. These books for the earliest readers will have you and your child in stitches while the learning just slips in.

Since the books are not that new, and I’m such a Mo fan, you may wonder why I haven’t mentioned them before now. Well, I had committed to doing a tri-review of the four titles with the fantastic team at Seven Impossible Things. In like, August. Delays ensued, other projects were pursued, Robert’s Snow intruded, but the in-depth review is now up and ready for your personal enjoyment. It is a thorough and even intellectual review — well, disregarding the use of the words dude and WORD. It includes the following sentence, which took four days to germinate in my brain and come into flower on my drive to work:

Now, I don’t think that Mo woke up one morning and said, “I’m going to write a set of beginning readers that addresses the psychological ambivalence of today’s parents who want to provide mature guidance to better enable the growth of their offspring, and yet are eager to embrace their own inner child — and in doing so, to embrace their actual son or daughter with a joyful and playful spirit.”

Where does this fantastic phrase fit in? Find out in the Elephant & Piggie review and see if Mo owes me lunch.

I don’t know about you, but I’ve gotten used to the cute and cuddly Mo Willems. The one who brought us the Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny. The one who gave us Elephant and Piggie. The man who worked on Sesame Street animation for years and took home those Emmys. The man who looks all cute and cuddly himself in his new blog header from his (apparently GQ) photo shoot.

But Mo is a man fighting monsters. Or at least creatively expressing monsters. Perhaps the darkness within fought to escape and having no place in the growing Elephant and Piggie series, worked its way into this Mo-riginal snowflake for the Robert’s Snow project.

As has been mentioned all through the kidlit blogs, artists from all over the children’s book illustrating community have created special snowflakes to be auctioned off, with the proceeds benefiting sarcoma research at Dana-Farber. These snowflake auctions became known as the event “Robert’s Snow.” As a participant, Mo was kind enough to take a few minutes from his busy schedule of writing, touring, and being fantastic to answer a few questions for MotherReader.

How did you get involved in the Robert’s Snow project?

Honestly, I can’t remember. Jarrett K. may have threatened not to talk to me if I didn’t do one, or he may have threatened to talk to me if I didn’t do one. Either way, it’s fairly easy to say yes to organizations that do actual good.

While most of the snowflakes feature winter or Christmas scenes, yours is kind of, like, a monster. What’s up with that?

I have always been terrified of snowflakes. I distrust their uniqueness and they way they lurk.

I’ve noticed some monster themes cropping up in your work — the Monsters in Underpants guide, some sketches on your blog, and now your snowflake. Are monsters ready to make another appearance in your books? (Rumor has it that Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, has been very lonely.)

Leonardo may return, but not for a few years and not how you expect him… (hee hee).

I’ve been lucky to have broken news about your upcoming books. I heard about your early reader series at your speech here in Northern Virginia. We talked about your work on Knuffle Bunny Too at the National Book Festival. Well, both of those have come out now and I’ve got no inside track. Nothing. Bubkes. Care to make any announcements about what’s next for you?

There will be a new Pigeon book in Spring 2008, but we’re only revealing the first 4 words of the title: “THE. PIGEON. WANTS. A. __________ !”

If you think you can guess what he wants, then (starting in December) you can enter a contest on pigeonpresents.com to win a school visit from me.

Extra added bonus: the titles of the next Elephant and Piggie books (due early summer 08):

I LOVE MY NEW TOY!

I WILL SURPRISE MY FRIEND!

Everyone’s asking: What are you going to be for Halloween?

The All-American Hero: Captain Dad!
Powers: Napping, Sending Villains to Their Room
Weakness: Adorable Daughters in Costume

If you’re interested in owning the Mo-flake (listen, I can go all day with these), the 2007 online auctions for bidding on these hand-painted snowflakes will take place in three separate auctions, open to everyone, from November 19–23, November 26–30, and December 3–7 (this is when you’ll find the Mo creation!). You can go to the event site for more information and to participate in the auction.

This year, more than 200 well-known children’s book illustrators from around the world have been given a five-inch wooden snowflake to decorate at will. Many, but not all, of the snowflake-making illustrators will be featured across sixty-five blogs. An updated list of snowflake and illustrator features is available at Seven Impossible Things, along with more information about the push behind the bloggers’ involvement in the project and the original call to action. Also not to be missed is Kris Bordessa’s post summarizing snowflake-related contests to date over at Paradise Found.
Here’s the schedule for features this week:

Monday, October 29

• Dan Santat at Writing and Ruminating
  
• Joanne Friar at The Longstockings
  
• Alissa Imre Geis at Wild Rose Reader
  
• Diane Greenseid at Just One More Book!!
  
• Sean Qualls at Brooklyn Arden
  

Tuesday, October 30

• Ann Koffsky at Book Buds
  
• Bill Carman at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
  
• Gretel Parker at Finding Wonderland
  
• Matt Phelan at A Year of Reading
  
• Stephanie Roth at Writing with a broken tusk
  

Wednesday, October 31

• Shawna Tenney at Kate’s Book Blog
  
• Adam Rex at Booktopia and Welcome to my Tweendom
  
• Mo Willems at MotherReader
  
• Rolandas Kiaulevicius at a wrung sponge
  

Thursday, November 1

• Karen Lee at sruble’s world
  
• Diana Magnuson at A Chair, A Fireplace & A Tea Cozy
  
• Melissa Iwai at Brooklyn Arden
  
• Victoria Jamieson at AmoXcalli and Cuentecitos
  
• Molly Idle at The Shady Glade
  
• Meghan McCarthy at A Fuse #8 Production
  

Friday, November 2

• Tracy McGuinness-Kelly at Sam Riddleburger’s blog
  
• Sarah Kahn at Kate’s Book Blog
  
• Sylvia Long at Whimsy Books
  
• Jeremy Tankard at the excelsior file
  
• Holli Conger at Please Come Flying
  

Saturday, November 3

• Susan Miller at Your Neighborhood Librarian
  
• Ellen Beier at What Adrienne Thinks About That
  
• Hideko Takahashi at The Silver Lining
  
• Judith Moffat at Jo’s Journal
  
• Wendell Minor at Wild Rose Reader
  

Sunday, November 4

• Joy Allen at Check It Out
  
• Robin Brickman at Greetings from Nowhere
  
• Lauren Stringer at laurasalas
  
• Nancy Wallace at In the Pages . . .
  

Please take time out to visit all of these blogs, and read about these fabulous illustrators. And, if you’re so inclined, think about bidding for a snowflake in the Robert’s Snow auction. Each snowflake makes a unique gift (for yourself or for someone else), and supports an important cause.

Oh, and Happy Halloween!

I was going to start on my own lists for Best Books of 2007 (So Far), but I’m not ready yet. You know, emotionally. So instead I’m going to spend the next two days beating you over the head with the idea. Or simply mentioning it. One or the other.

With my vacation at the end of the summer, I missed announcing the arrival of the August Carnival of Children’s Literature. Since the feature was hosted at a homeschooling blog, there were many participating blogs that I didn’t know. I was particularly interested by Woman of the Tiger Moon’s personal list of
her favorite 100 children’s books. I’ve seen the National Education Association’s Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children, but there are several books on there that I wouldn’t choose. Plus the list doesn’t include books published after 1999 (are they going to update it any time soon?). I’m intrigued by the idea of making my own Top 100 sometime. Hmmm. By the way, the next carnival will take place at Charlotte’s Library.

I also was interested in a question received over at The Longstockings, where an English teacher asked, “What MUST READ books would you include in a primer dedicated to YA or on a syllabus for a YA course?” I’ve seen a course guide for Young Adult Literature, but again, the question made me think of a more personal approach. What would I suggest, especially if I had to keep the choices limited — say, to a selection of twenty books? Hmmm. I may have to look at that issue, though I suspect that I have some readers who are ready to answer that question right now.

I hadn’t paid any attention to BlogShares for a while, until I learned that Gotta Book was subject to a hostile takeover. It made me look, and I found that the kidlit blogs have been targeted. Probably because none of us takes any interest in — or for that matter understands — the whole BlogShares concept. I have to admit, however, that I loved my “press release” — even if can’t comprehend it.

MotherReader was the subject of much speculation when analysts at several firms were heard to be very positive about its recent performance. Its share price rose from B$126.14 to B$182.90. Much of the hype was said to originate from Ken Adams whose Maurice Sendak (artefact) was said to be involved.

Yesterday I looked obsessively for this exchange from Friends, when Monica and Chandler got engaged, because I had to use it today.

Rachel: I’m so happy for them!

Phoebe: Me too! So happy for them!

Rachel: I’m so happy and not at all jealous.

Phoebe: Oh no! No, God, definitely not jealous!

(They both take a drink of coffee.)

Rachel: I mean I’m probably 98 percent happy, maybe 2 percent jealous. And I mean, what’s 2 percent? That’s nothing.

Phoebe: Totally. I’m like 90/10.

Rachel: Yeah, me too.

It’s the perfect lead-in for pointing out the fantastic, incredible, totally zazz interview with Mo Willems over at Seven Impossible Things. Not only is Mo funny (of course), not only is the content interesting (naturally), but they also linked to several other interviews through the ages. My Mo-view is listed, and I believe my obsession is noted, along with the announcement that I and the 7-Imp gals will be co-reviewing the Elephant and Piggie books. I’m so happy...

Oh, one quick thing for a laugh. Read Roger pointed out this great site with 15 Unfortunately Placed Ads. Some were groaners, but several made me crack up. I’ll never forget the one with the cat and... Jesus.

Seriously, you didn’t think we were going to get through this whole Tell An Author You Care thing without me mentioning Mo, did you?

Well, we’re not. Kudos and congrats and all other synonyms for Mo Willems. Knuffle Bunny Too received not one, not two, but three starred reviews! Read about it at the official Mo site, but remember that you heard about it here first. Unless of course you are Mo, and then it’s fairly likely that you already knew.

I am very happy to read all the great things about this wonderful book, but it is important that we don’t lose perspective and forget what really matters. And that would be that I loved and reviewed it first.

So I didn’t get talk to Mo Willems at his author signing or hear him serve as color commentator for the book cart drills or see him accept the Carnegie Medal, as detailed at his site.

But I’ve got this, and I’m pretty happy. Notice the curvature of the book? That’s because I had to take a picture of the F&G — or “fold and gather” — because the picture isn’t even on Amazon yet. The distinctly amateur quality of the photo also makes it perfectly clear that I am not showing some sort of publicity shot, but a picture of the book in my very own home. Sitting right beside me on the black desk chair.

Not that I’m excited about it or anything.

Okay, I am excited about it. Not only because I have it early. Not only because I got it personally. Not only because I seem to be the first to review it. I am excited about it because it’s really great. Really, really great.

Start with the title: Knuffle Bunny Too. I love the wordplay of too and two, because both are accurate in this story. There is a Knuffle Bunny also, i.e., another KBunny featured, making two Knuffle Bunnies. Of course it’s the second book. And you know, we could take this one further and say that it could be to, as in Knuffle Bunny goes to PreK, because that’s how it all starts.

Trixie is walking to school with her daddy, and she’s all excited. She’s taking her favorite bunny to school to show all her friends. But then she sees another girl with the same Knuffle Bunny! Trixie is upset, and (in one of my favorite parts of the book) the girls argue about how to say the bunny’s name (“Kuh nuffle!” “Nuffle!”). The bunnies are removed from the girls and returned at the end of the day.

Now the subtitle of the book is A Case of Mistaken Identity. (Actually, it appears that the subtitle is A Case of Mistaken Identity by Mo Willems.) I’m sure that you, as an adult reader, can guess what happens next with the two bunnies. I suspect you can even guess at the eventual relationship between the two bunny owners. What you can’t guess is just how well this is done in the book. We follow Trixie home from school, and “at half-past bedtime, Trixie was tucked in, ready for sleep.” When Trixie realizes that something is WRONG (just like the first book), she marches into her parents’ bedroom to solve the problem. “Trixie’s daddy tried to explain what ‘2:30 a.m.’ means. He asked, ‘Can we deal with this in the morning?’”

The next four pictures in the book, all on one page, could stand forever for me as the tribute to the Mo genius. Trixie’s wide-eyed stare at dad never changes. The dad looks at Trixie with a sheepish grin. He looks at mom with a sheepish grin. The mom has one eyebrow raised. The dad looks back with worried awareness. And in the last picture Trixie is in bed with the mom, while Dad is out of the frame walking toward the phone, holding the bunny in one hand and scratching his lower back with the other.

I’ll leave you the rest of the book to enjoy without my commentary, but rest assured that it’s clever and funny, sweet and sensitive. Mo captures the parent-and-child relationship, and the resulting angst and hilarity perfectly. A spectacular follow-up to the first book, brilliantly done.

And did I mention I have a copy now, in my very house? Awesome.

Publication date September 14th for, you know, everyone else.

How cute are these? The infant PJs come with a board book. The older kids’ (up to size ten) can be purchased alone, or with a hardback of the book. (From Mo’s blog.)

Guess whose birthday is coming up?

No, not Mo’s. (I missed it. Though my interview did post the very next day. Interesting.)

As it turns out, the Pigeon is celebrating his birthday on April 1st, and his gift totally rocks. He’s got a great new website! Fun for the whole family. Stop on by.

So, Mo sent me a little something. Signed sketchbooks — including the famous Pigeon one — and an original Monster in Underpants picture! It’s a perfect way to introduce my interview with the man himself. On this site is one part, a little teaser. At The Edge of the Forest, you’ll find the rest of the interview, along with other reviews, articles, and features.

---

Teaser question: How did the sketchbooks get started? Who do they go to? And how, exactly, did the Pigeon go from being the sketchbook to a picture book?

That’s three teaser questions and consequentially requires dull exposition about the early 1990s.

Ahem. Back in the early 1990s (yawn!), I was part of a very young, very dissolute literary scene centered around a guy by the name of S. Pratt. Pratt had two things going for him: he put out a monthly ’Zine¹ that older, less dissolute literary types apparently read, and he lived in a big loft where you could really party.²

Being dissolute, my friend quickly ran out of stuff to fill his ’Zine,³ so I suggested hijacking one issue with New Yorker-style cartoons that I’d doodled over the previous year.

The issue was a success, as it filled all the required pages and doubled as an xmas card for my clients and friends. So, the next year we made another. After a few years, Ersatz dissolutely dissoluted and Curious Pictures⁴ started to “publish” them annually. Staples were replaced with binding, the covers had two (count ’em, two) colors, and things generally appeared semi-professional.⁵

Some of the books are collections of cartoons, others short stories, or more serious illustration. Essentially, the sketchbooks are an outlet for me to play and experiment with things that otherwise no one in their right minds would publish.

This January I shipped out my 14th edition of the Mo Willems Sketchbook, entitled Mr. Willems’ Essential Reference Guide to MONSTERS IN UNDERPANTS [Abridged and Incomplete]. It is, as you might guess, a guide to various Monsters and their undergarments.

The most “famous” of these sketchbooks, I suppose, is the original version of Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, which fell into the hands of an agent who was amused, who in turn showed it to multiple publishers, who were not.

Two years later my agent stumbled across an editor silly enough to be enthusiastic about the Pigeon and before I knew it, I was glamorously doing internet interviews.⁶