Mo Willems
Mo Willems often begins talks with a story about 3,472 little pigs. He explained to the Children's Book Guild of Washington DC that he does this for two reasons. The first is that it takes a couple of minutes, and the second is that it will never work as a picture book. He told us that because we can already see the wolf, the pigs, and the houses we do not need pictures. For Mo to write a picture book it has to be incomprehensible: "My job is to write incomprehensible books for illiterates." A literary rock star, Mo has published over thirty children's books receiving critical and commercial success. He spoke to the Children's Book Guild of Washington DC about his creative process, his views on writing and illustrating, and the importance of emotional truth in books. The audience punctuated his remarks with laughter throughout the event -- the humor of his books translating into his presentation.
His process of creating manuscripts is reductive, if he can read the words alone and know what is going on then it has too many words. If he can look at just his storyboard and see what is going on then it has too many pictures. So he takes out lines and takes out pictures. What is left is a story that leaves room for his audience. He believes that it is not up to him to decide what his books are about, it is up to his audience to give his books meaning.
Not understanding what his books are about is key for Mo. If he really understands the message of the story then it becomes didactic and that "is the death of all stories." His view is that the worst thing you can do to a child or adult is force them to read something they should read. An example of leaving room for his audience that he shared with us was from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (his debut children's picture book and winner of a Caldecott Honor in 2004). He quoted two early reviews, one saying they loved the book because it taught children never to give up, the other loved the book because it taught the value of the word no. What Mo thought was great about these two contrasting reviews was that they were both right. That was exactly what the book is about. For them.
Before Mo was a published children's book author/illustrator he worked in TV, most notably on Sesame Street, where he won six Emmy Awards, but also on a show called Sheep in the Big City. When Sheep was cancelled Mo went looking for answers, searching for them "where all true answers lie: the internet." A turning point for Mo was reading a comment from a ten-year-old who said that what he did not like about the show Sheep was it looked like the writer was trying too hard. This shook Mo up. He tried to think of any other profession where trying too hard was a negative.
However, it is the case with writing. The reader does not want a relationship with the author. They are looking for a relationship with the characters. If they feel that Mo exists in any way then he becomes the third wheel at the party. Since his writing on Sheep looked like it took effort it was interfering with the pleasure the audience was getting from watching. Another example Mo discussed with us took place during his time on Sesame Street. He was in his twenties and living in Brooklyn, and when he would explain to friends that he wrote for Sesame Street they would be excited -- "Elmo! I love Elmo!"-- but also confused. What exactly did that mean, writing for Elmo? They could not figure out that Elmo was written. They thought he was just Elmo and the camera just happened to be there. That Mo told us, is the sign of good writing. When nobody wants to know there is a writer -- you have to be invisible.
One way Mo makes himself invisible is by manipulating his audience. His belief is you have to show the emotional truth and the best way to show the emotional truth is by "lying." He gave the example of Where the Wild Things Are: the illustrations begin very small, then they get very big, then they take over, and then they get very small again, as Max goes from reality to fantasy and back to reality again. But if the child actually notices this then the writer has failed. He shared a few examples of audience manipulation from his own work that he hoped they did not notice.
In the Pigeon books Mo manipulates his audience with colors. The backgrounds are not places but solid colors that are like a giant mood ring explaining what the Pigeon is feeling. As he becomes more and more excited the colors get brighter and brighter. When he freaks out the colors are extremely bright but then, as his soul is crushed, everything is grey. The background serves as a color chart and rhythm to the story.
In Leonardo the Terrible Monster Mo used format, text size, and sentence structure to manipulate the audience. The book is the largest size he was allowed to make and the boy Leonardo is incredibly small, though is never referred to as small. There would be no point. Mo explained that he does not like to define a character for the audience. He also controlled how the book is read aloud: at first all the sentences are the same, getting you into a rhythm. Then the amount of words on a page increases. It reads a little bit faster. The words increase some more. It reads even faster. Then comes the page that just says "Sam" and automatically, it reads slower than any other word in the book. Mo pointed out that Sam is "sad" spelled wrong.
The illustrations in Knuffle Bunny are often described as cartoons on top of photographs. Not so Mo tells us. Those photographs of romantic Park Slope, Brooklyn are still illustrations -- he has manipulated them to better represent the emotional truth. The eye erases the "grey of ugliness." A camera does not do that, so in photoshop Mo fixes signs or gets rid of items like trashcans and air conditioning units that detract from the emotional truth of Trixie's neighborhood. The illustrations are more of a collage; but when people describe them as photos with cartoons on them, Mo takes it as a sign of success.
His pet peeve is when people come up to him and say "I've written a funny book about blah blah blah." He finds this rude as you are essentially telling him that he does not know what funny is. Something he would never presume to do to you. He never says "I wrote a funny book about a pigeon." Instead saying, "I wrote a book about a pigeon who wanted to drive a bus." If you laugh, great. If you do not, well, "maybe it is a tragedy. I don't know. It is for the pigeon." He believes writers can not describe how they want their audience to react.
As an author/illustrator Mo tries not to be didactic or have rules but one rule he does have is a "port-of-entry rule." He wants every character that he designs to be able to be reasonably drawn by a five-year-old. He strongly believes that books should not just be read but should also encourage play. That drawing, or any act of creation, is an act of empathy. When you draw a character, even a villain, you have to slow down and empathize with that character. "Ah, he has horns. I wonder what those are like?" He thinks the idea that reading is important should be the beginning of a deeper line of thought.
If he has a skill, Mo said, it is for really bad ideas: writing a book about a naked Mole Rat, having a rat with wings as a lovable star character, teaching potty training with an infestation of rodents. All terrible ideas. "But so horrible that you have to do it, right?"
Hopefully Mo will continue to have bad ideas for many years to come. His recent and upcoming titles include Knuffle Bunny Free: An Unexpected Diversion; City Dog, Country Frog; We Are in a Book! (the "Elephant and Piggie" series); and Time to Sleep, Sheep the Sheep (the "Cat the Cat" series).
Contributor: Emily Griffin
Reviews
Cat the Cat, Who is That?
Mo Willems
Into his teeming menagerie that already encompasses Knuffle Bunny, Pigeon, Elephant and Piggy, and their legion of sidekicks, Willems now introduces Cat the Cat and her buddies. The debut title, Cat the Cat, functions pretty narrowly as a get-acquainted session, as the purple-frocked feline meeting each new critter by answering the narrator's query of "Cat the Cat, who is that?" with a name patterned after her own—Mouse the Mouse, Duck the Duck, Fish the Fish. Audience prediction breaks down, though, at the encounter with a multi-limbed, stalk-eyed alien who responds, "Blurggie! Blurggie!" Sorry, kiddies, but it's not Blurggie the Blurggie, but simply and rather disappointingly "a NEW friend!" The clever quotient rises a level in the second title, Let's Say Hi. Again, Willems supplies a pattern: "‘Can you fly, Bee the Bee?' ‘Watch me!'" A bird and bat nimbly follow suit, but Rhino the Rhino seems less promising until he takes off in a plane. Vocabulary is consistently easier in Let's Say Hi, with monosyllables and sight words all around, and none of Cat the Cat's adult-dependent twists like "pleasure" and "blurggie" to confound neophytes. Both, however, deliver the perennial amusement of Willems' heavily outlined, friendly, slightly naïve animals and—for joy!—hidden pigeons. Emergent readers and their phonics teachers will applaud this new launch Review Code: Ad -- Additional book of acceptable quality for collections needing more material in the area. (c) Copyright 2006, The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois. 2010, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, 24p., $10.99. Ages 2-5 yrs. Reviewer: Elizabeth Bush (The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, May 2010 (Vol. 63, No. 9)).
ISBN: 978-0-06-172840-2
ISBN: 978-0-06-172841-9
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
Mo Willems
As the author of many humorous books such as Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny, Mo Willems has the ability to make readers laugh--this story is no exception. It begins with the narrator having a hard time getting a pigeon, the main character, to bed. This narrator has asked the reader to help make sure the pigeon does not stay up late. Unfortunately, this is easier said than done. Like any normal, energetic child, the pigeon invents excuse after excuse of why he should not go to bed at this time. He also tries to change the subject to anything that does not involve going to bed. Excuses like having a hot dog party are one of the many creative stalling tactics used by the pigeon to stay up even five minutes later--and a wonderful bit of Willems' style. The pigeon refuses to admit that he needs to go to bed but his yawns make it quite obvious that he should. The simple pictures in this funny story will have children sympathizing with this pigeon and making excuses of their own about why they too should stay up late. 2006, Hyperion/Disney, $12.99. Ages 2 to 6. Reviewer: Ashley Hergenroeder (Children's Literature).
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Books of the Year, 2006 Winner 2 to 4 Years United States
National Parenting Publications Award, 2006 Gold Book Books for Preschoolers and Kindergartners United States
ISBN: 978-0-7868-3746-5
Edwina, the Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct
Mo Willems
Already well known for his "Pigeon" books, Willems has created another affable character in the endearing Edwina. The endpapers are covered in plates full of cookies…children can be led to make predictions right from the opening of the cover. In the first few pages we learn that Edwina is a beloved town fixture who helps the townspeople with little favors, plays with the children, AND bakes chocolate chip cookies for everyone. Everyone loves Edwina, except for Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie (a great name to read aloud). Reginald is exceptionally smart and has tried valiantly to explain to everyone that dinosaurs are extinct. Even when he lectures the class about the science behind his proclamations, the lure of fresh baked cookies causes them to rush out to Edwina and ignore Reginald completely. He makes several more attempts to convince everyone that Edwina cannot exist and finds himself alone with no one to listen to him at all. Then a voice said, "I'll listen to you." Naturally, it is helpful Edwina offering to pay attention to his theories. She is shocked but she "just didn't care," and by then neither did Reginald. As he tries to explain to Edwina that she is extinct, Reginald's expressions are concrete evidence of Willems' genius--just a few strokes of his talented fingers and we can really "see" Reginald's frustrations and efforts to be convincing. Edwina's initial dismay at the news is also wonderfully conveyed by the illustration of her "shock." This will be great fun to read aloud and discuss with youngsters. 2006, Hyperion/Disney, $16.99. Ages 4 to 7. Reviewer: Sheilah Egan (Children's Literature).
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
National Parenting Publications Award, 2006 Gold Book Books for Preschoolers and Kindergartners United States
ISBN: 978-0-7868-3748-9
ISBN: 0-7868-3748-9
I Am Going!
Mo Willems
Best friends Gerald and Piggie enjoy another ordinary day in this "Elephant & Piggie" book. Piggie announces that he is going. Gerald the elephant does not want his friend to leave because it will mean the end of their fun. Piggie insists he must go which brings Gerald to explain all the reasons Piggie should not go. It turns out that Piggie is simply hungry and wants to leave so he can eat lunch. So, they eat lunch together. In typical Willems style, Gerald and Piggie are not just plain animals, but an elephant and a pig with enormous facial expressions and exaggerated gestures. Paired with the simple text of speech bubbles, this book is a treasure for the beginning reader. They will not only be able to read the words, but also predict the emotions and actions of the characters. This book is recommended for libraries and classrooms of beginning readers. It would also make an excellent gift for a young reader. 2010, Hyperion/Disney, $8.99. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Marcie Flinchum Atkins (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-1-4231-1990-6
ISBN: 1-4231-1990-8
I Will Surprise My Friend!
Mo Willems
Elephant and Piggie are good friends. As they are walking, they see a squirrel surprise his friend, making everyone laugh. Elephant and Piggie decide together that it would be really fun to surprise each other. After sneakily hiding on either side of a rock, each friend waits for the other to appear. When neither friend sees the other, each friend begins to worry that something has happened to the other. Characteristically, Elephant envisions terrible scenes of what might have happened to Piggie. Piggie imagines Elephant may have become hungry for lunch. Lost in their own daydreams, Elephant and Piggie each leap from the rock and startle each other. Elephant and Piggie discover that not all surprises are funny--but readers will find the situation very funny, indeed. Showing his unfailing understanding of children's humor, Willems has created a delightful story for very early readers. What is really wonderful about the Elephant and Piggie stories is how skillfully Willems uses the simplest words combined with illustrations of outstanding expressiveness to convey rather complicated ideas. Each arch of an eyebrow, position of an arm, and line of motion tells the story and cues early readers to recognize the thoughts behind the words. It also teaches plotting and pacing. The illustrations are done in Willems' standard line art style and with a limited color palette, which highlights the action in the illustrations better than a busier page would. Elephant and Piggie stories are terrific for early readers, but they can also be enjoyed by younger children when read to them or by older children who will continue to enjoy Willems' trademark humor. 2008, Hyperion/Disney, $8.99. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Gwen Vanderhage (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-1-4231-0962-4
ISBN: 1-4231-0962-7
Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity
Mo Willems
Trixie, the young protagonist in Mo Willems's wildly popular Knuffle Bunny is back! Excited about taking her favorite toy to school for show and tell, Trixie thinks her knuffle bunny will be a big hit because she knows it is one of a kind, but when Trixie arrives at school, she is shocked when she sees another girl in the class, Sonja, holding the same bunny! Both angry at having the same toy, Trixie and Sonja engage in a chaotic duel between themselves and their bunnies. Ms. Greengrove stops the battle and takes both bunnies, only returning the adored bunnies to her students after school. In the middle of the night, however, Trixie discovers that she is sleeping with the wrong bunny. Will the knuffle bunnies be returned to their rightful owners? Will Trixie and Sonja stop fighting long enough to realize they have more in common than they think? Like those in Knuffle Bunny, Mo Willems's innovative illustrations combine background photographs with characters made in the style of cartoon sketches. This makes the background seem less relevant than the characters, who pop out of the page. Willems also slips in a bit of visual irony in drawing knuffle bunny--the same bunny that Trixie thinks is "one-of-a-kind"--very plainly, using a simple style and dull colors. This also serves as foreshadowing, suggesting that maybe Trixie's bunny is not so special after all. The characters wear bright colors, like Trixie's crazy bright green shirt and yellow skirt that matches her hair. This technique, along with the use of round shapes, makes the characters more appealing to an audience of children. Mo Willems uses simple text and simple characters to bring out a complex message about the importance of friendship and individuality. 2007, Hyperion/Disney, $16.99. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Ashlee Smith (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-1-4231-0299-1
ISBN: 1-4231-0299-1
Leonardo the Terrible Monster
Mo Willems
This is an original and quirky story by the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Honor Book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. Leonardo is terrible as a monster just the way Casper is terrible as a ghost--Leonardo just does not scare anyone. He is not Tony with his 1,642 teeth, he is not Eleanor who is huge and sports polish on her claws and he is certainly not weird Hector who looks something like a teapot crossed with a furry snake. All Leonardo's attempts at being frightening fail, so he decides to find a scaredy-cat kid and "scare the tuna salad out of him." Sam fits the bill and sure enough, when Leonardo creeps up on him and lets loose with monster sounds and actions, Sam burst into tears. But then Sam explains that he is crying because he is had just a terrible day and after he tells Leonardo all his troubles, the monster decides he would rather be a good friend than a great monster. The silliness of the text and drawings remove this from the ordinary tale of friendship and kids will want it read again and again. 2005, Hyperion/Disney, $15.99. Ages 3 to 6. Reviewer: Carolyn Mott Ford (Children's Literature).
Awards, Honors, Prizes:
Book Sense Book of the Year Award, 2006 Honor Book Children's Illustrated United States
Charlotte Zolotow Award, 2006 Highly Commended United States
ISBN: 978-0-7868-5294-9
ISBN: 0-7868-5294-1
Let's Say Hi to Friends Who Fly!
Mo Willems
Willems's new series of easy readers features a wide-eyed kitty cat named Cat, who will prove to be a most adorable heroine in books to come. Cat meets her pals on the playground and challenges them to demonstrate their flying prowess. Bee buzzes around the swingset. Bird, who looks like he might more specifically be called "Duck,"soars out of the sandbox. Bat, who dangles from the jungle gym, shows Cat how he can dive and spin circles around her. When the group comes across Rhino, they are surprised that he too can fly, albeit in an airplane. Everyone is invited to join Rhino in the air, and it is only Cat about which readers will worry, as she hangs precariously from the rear of the plane. Cat and her friendly gang of flappers have a lightness that is perhaps more superficial than the "Elephant and Piggie"series, but it is perfect for kids who are jumping from pre-literacy skills to sight words. After a while, even new readers may tire of the repetition of the animals' names, but it is all distinctly Willems and it s difficult to get enough of him or his lovable characters. If Bat the Bat does not steal readers hearts, nothing will. 2010, Balzer + Bray/HarperCollins, Ages 3 mo. to 5 years, $12.99. Reviewer: Kristy Lyn Sutorius (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-0-06172-846-4
ISBN: 978-0-06172-842-6
Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed
Mo Willems
Naked Mole Rats are a little bit rat, a little bit mole, and always naked. That was the truth until Wilbur came along. Wilbur liked to get dressed. He had a varied wardrobe, and he looked spiffy in everything he wore. The other naked mole rats were appalled. When they failed to convince Wilbur of the error of his ways, they appealed to Grand-pah, the oldest, greatest, and most naked mole rat ever. Heroic, regal Grand-pah requested a gathering of the colony, promising to make a proclamation. Imagine the surprise when Grand-pah appeared fully clothed and decreed that clothes could be fun. After that, some mole rats were naked, some were clothed, and all had a great time. Delightful, cartoon-like illustrations convey the many emotions expressed by the mole rats as they come to terms with the question, "Why not?" A fun choice for story time. 2009, Hyperion/Disney, $16.99. Ages 3 to 7. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D. (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-1-4231-1437-6
ISBN: 1-4231-1437-X
Time to Sleep Sheep the Sheep
Mo Willems
Cat the Cat is back in her pretty purple dress happily telling all her animal friends that it is time for sleep. Each of her animal friends is doing routine things to prepare for bed. Sheep the sheep is reading when Cat tells him that it is time to sleep; next she tells Pig--who is in the bathtub--that it is time for sleep, and then onto Giraffe who is brushing her teeth, Crab is getting a drink of water, and Horse is on the potty. Cat is obviously embarrassed by this as she is covering her rosy face and avoiding eye contact with Horse. When she arrives at Owl, it turns out it is not time for him to sleep and he sits wide awake as everyone else roots into their sleeping bags. Willems has snuck in fun details for kids to pick out on several of the pages, for example, Cat's friend shark has a pile of stuffed animals, within that pile we see our old friend pigeon and when they all snuggle in for sleep--Horse has a sleeping mask on his head. The bold white text stands out against the night time blue that gets a little darker with each page and despite the simplicity of how the animals are drawn; they are still quite expressive and have distinctive personalities. With repetitive text, readers can anticipate what comes next with little prompting. 2010, HarperCollins, Ages 3 mo. to 5, $10.99. Reviewer: Lara Beth Lehman (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-0-06-172847-1
Watch Me Throw the Ball!
Mo Willems
In this addition to the "Elephant and Piggie" beginning reader series, Gerald insists that ball throwing is very serious business indeed, one that requires practice and skill. He considers himself to be a good ball thrower and expects praise. He is willing to entertain the idea that his friend, Piggie, with time and practice, might also be good at throwing a ball. Piggie, on the other hand does not want to waste time in practice, but leaps right in to give it his best try. Piggie stresses the fun aspect of throwing a ball and puts the happiest of constructions possible on everything that happens after he gives the ball a fling. While exciting and funny, it is easy to read and only a few words appear on most pages. When the text is somewhat longer, repetition is involved. The delightfully simple pictures add appeal. Three times this author/illustrator has had his work recognized by being named Caldecott Honor books. Willems began his career on Sesame Street where he won six Emmy awards. Young readers will love serious Gerald and his enthusiastic friend, Piggie. This book is highly recommended. 2009, Hyperion/Disney, $8.99. Ages 4 to 8. Reviewer: Phyllis J. Perry (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-1-4231-1348-5
ISBN: 1-4231-1348-9
What's Your Sound, Hound the Hound?
Mo Willems
Illustrations by Mo Willems
Set on a soft green background are Cat the Cat and friends as they happily prepare for a tea party. As the characters all help with the preparations, Cat approaches each one to learn its sound. Cat asks Hound the Houndabout his sound, and Hound responds with woofs. Cat poses the same question to Chick the Chick, who answers with a peep, Cow the Cow, of course, replies with a moo. An awkward situation comes up, however, when Cat asks Bunny the Bunny, who has no response. Bunny is embarrassed. The characters seem to realize that not everyone is the same, and they resolve the situation by accepting the differences with a group hug for Bunny. This simple story line moves toward a quick resolution to a conflict. Young children will enjoy recognizing the animal characters and sounds that they make. This story is part of the "Cat the Cat"series. 2010, Balzer and Bray/HarperCollins Publishers, Ages 3 mo. to 5 years, $10.99. Reviewer: Carrie Hane Hung (Children's Literature).
ISBN: 978-0-06-172844-0
ISBN: 978-0-06-172845-7
To read a Q&A with Mo Willems, click here.
Added 7/29/2010
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