Mo Willems

Mo Willems

An American writer, animator, voice actor, and creator of children's books.

“I always think of my audience, but never think for my audience.”

Biographical Information
~Early Life and Education~

'''Mo Willems was born in Des Plaines, IL, but grew up in New Orleans as the only son of Dutch immigrants. Willems first became interested in cartoon art when he was just a child. When he was 3 or 4 he started to draw and create his own characters. "My childhood ambition was to draw and be funny in some way," Willems said. "My dream was I wanted to take over Charles Schulz's job when he died.”  So at the tender age of five Willems wrote to Charles Schulz, asking if he could have his job when he died. (His dad never mailed the letter so I guess we’ll never know.) Willems’ spent his childhood doodling Charlie Brown and Snoopy which inspired a quality of his work today, he believes his characters should be simple enough for a five year old to redraw and create their own stories.'''

'''Comedy also became an early interest to Willems. "In second grade the class bully would not tease me or bully me if I had a gag, so I had a daily strip in second grade.”  He got involved in school theatre projects starting in the 4th grade which began an appreciation for the stage/spotlight. By the time Willems was sixteen, he was writing a comic strip for a local real-estate magazine. The strip was called “Surrealty.” '''

'''Willems studied animation at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts where he graduated cum laude. After graduating from Tisch, Willems spent a year traveling around the world drawing a cartoon every day, all of which have been published in the book You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons.'''

~Middle Life and Television Career~

'''After college, Willems tried stand-up comedy where he eventually played some better-known clubs, and at just 24 he was asked to do one of his comedy bits as an audition to become a writer on "Sesame Street." He landed a job as a writer and animator and went on to earn six Emmy Awards for writing during his tenure from 1993 to January 2002. '''

'''During this period he also performed stand-up comedy in NYC and recorded essays for BBC Radio along with making a promo for Cartoon Network and animating the opening for a show on Nickelodeon. He later created two animated television series: The Off-Beats for Nickelodeon's KaBlam!, and Sheep in the Big City for Cartoon Network. Despite being super busy, Willems found the time to marry his wife Cheryl in 1997.'''

'''When his daughter Trixie was born, Willems was working seven days a week in television, directing a staff of 50 animation artists, and he envisioned his daughter's childhood speeding by without him. That's when he pulled the plug on his television career and tried children's books.'''

~Later Life and Children's Picture Book Author~

'''Having worked in every medium from radio to bubble-gum cards (which he used to illustrate), Willems loves the relative freedom of picture books. "I think it is the only creative endeavor left," he said, "where there is such a wide variety of expression within a single format."'''

'''Willems’ first book "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus," is a sparsely drawn, hilarious tale in which a toddler-like pigeon, with escalating hysteria, wheedles and begs to be allowed to drive a bus after the driver steps outside. For this effort he was awarded a Caldecot honor. Several popular sequels and different series (Knufflebunny and Elephant and Piggie) followed along with many other books and projects.'''

'Willems' books have been translated into a number of languages, spawned animated shorts that have twice been awarded the Carnegie Medal (Knuffle Bunny, 2007, and Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus'', 2010), and been developed into theatrical musical productions. His illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.'''

He currently resides in Massechussetts with his wife Cher and daughter Trixie where he is working on things that he has been “afraid” to work on and hopes to continue to speak truthfully to children through his work.

Themes
'''Willems writes on philosophical topics such as sharing, forgiveness, friendship, kindness, jealousy, anger, and even death. '''

'''“The age of five is the most philosophical age you can be. You're useless. You're not paying rent. But you're asking questions: Why are people mean? What is death? Can I drive a bus? The core, Greek, fundamental, existential questions.”'''

Style
Willems says he keeps his pictures simple enough for a 5-year-old to draw, because he wants kids to play with his books, not just read them.

"My goal is to have children take my characters and create new adventures for them.  I don't want my books to be read, I want them to be played. The idea is that you're engendering creativity. Reading is great but it is ultimately a form of consumption. What I want is after they read the book, for a kid to say, ‘I've got an idea: Don't Let the Pigeon...operate the catapult, Don't Let the Pigeon...audit my neighbor.’  And then they go out and infringe on my copyright and they make their own stories.” 

“I speak to children, not at them.”

~Awards/Recognition~

 * Six Emmy Awards from 1995-2001 for writer and animator on Sesame Street
 * Numerous ASIFA-East Awards for “Suzie Kabloozie” on Sesame Street
 * Three Caldecott Honor Awards


 * Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2004)
 * Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (2005)
 * Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity (2008)
 * Time Magazine’s 10 Best Children’s Books for 2005


 * Leanardo, the Terrible Monster
 * Book Sense Book of the Year Honor Book in 2006


 * Leanardo, the Terrible Monster
 * Two Carnegie Medals for animated versions of books


 * Knuffle Bunny (2007)
 * Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2010)
 * Three Theodor Seuss Geisel Awards


 * There Is a Bird on Your Head (2008 Winner)
 * Are You Ready to Play Outside?  (2009 Winner)
 * We Are In a Book  (2011 Honor)
 * NAPPA Award Winner for animated version of a book


 * Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (2010 Gold Winner)

~Criticism~
Trixie, Willems’ daughter, is perhaps his most trusted critic, "She thinks the books about her are superior to the other books in my canon."

“Willems' genius,” said Nick Clark, chief curator at the Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art in Amherst, Mass., “is giving expression to inanimate objects.”

Willems is "an incredibly dynamic and engaging presenter,'' says Norah Piehl, the deputy director of the Boston Book Festival. At an appearance by Willems in 2011, she says, "We had close to 600 kids and parents at his session, and he had them all oinking like pigs."

'''“There is one literary depiction of mortality for kids so gripping and so terrifying that it has been haunting me—a fully grown man—since I read it. It is arguably the most disturbing book published in America since The Road.  I refer, of course, to Mo Willems’ 2010 picture book, We Are in a Book!” David Plotz- Slate'''

~Other Information~
'''A New York Times review compared Willems to Walt Disney and Schulz, saying his round-headed Pigeon "can stand toe-to-ideographic-toe with Mickey Mouse and Charlie Brown." For Willems, the comparison was "a thrill, obviously."'''

My kids love his books!

And so do I!

And I bet you will too!