Don’t Let the Pigeon Interview Mo Willems!
By Jessica Rae Patton, Associate Editor

What would happen if the main character in Mo Willems' "pigeon" book series, the tenacious bird itself, cornered its creator for an interview? We can only imagine the interrogation to which it would subject poor Mo about being denied the opportunity to helm a bus, enjoy its very own hot dog or stay up past its birdy bedtime. And, of course, it would want to know why it doesn't star in all of Mo's books. Although Mo has given the attention-seeking bird cameo appearances in other titles, we doubt the persistent pigeon will be satisfied unless its creator is, well, 100% pigeon-holed.

Funny is funny. When we met Mo in his home studio in Brooklyn, NY, he told us how this character came to be and about his career shift from television writer and animator to children's book author–illustrator. Mo had gone to England for a month in 1998 to write, as he put it, the "Great American Children's Book." As he doodled, a pesky pigeon character, which was not the intended subject of that or any other book, emerged in the margins. The bird insisted on starring in its own book – Mo spoke of the pigeon as a sentient, and persistent, being – so he placated the pigeon by producing a small sketchbook about the bird's (failed) attempt to get behind the wheel of a city bus. Mo had produced such pocket-sized sketchbooks as annual gifts for friends and clients for several years. He didn't think much more about it until his wife, then an elementary school librarian, told him of the rave reviews the tiny read-aloud was receiving from her preK and kindergarten students. Since Mo had created it with adults in mind, he initially brushed off the response. "My theory was just, 'Well, it's special; it's small; it's the only copy and that's why they're enjoying it.'" Yet, he doesn't believe humor needs to be written on two different levels for kids and adults. "I want what I write to be funny for everybody. That's the goal," he said. An agent also saw the sketchbook's potential for being recast as a children's book, so the process of giving the pigeon its wings began.

"I want my books to be played, not to be read. I want them to be sort of a full-on experience."

A pigeon-hole-in-one. In hindsight, given the success of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Hyperion, 2003) – which perched on The New York Times Bestseller list, cleaned up in critic's circles and strutted off with a 2004 Caldecott Honor – it's surprising to learn of the difficulty Mo had finding a publisher for the project. Despite his credentials as a writer for Sesame Street for nine years, for which he garnered six Emmy awards, he was typecast as a television writer. "I kept hearing, 'TV isn't books. TV isn't books.' But I wasn't terribly worried about it, because the responses were primarily, 'It's very unusual.' I realized it would just take time for somebody to say, 'It's very unusual, let's publish it.' So it took a long time, but it worked out fine."

The family business. The New York Times heralded Mo Willems as "the biggest talent to emerge in children's books in the '00s." But Mo is quick to downplay the rather meteoric arc of his career thus far. He'd landed coveted spots on staff at Sesame Street as both a scriptwriter and filmmaker by the age of 24; he's animated short films and series for Nickelodeon, Cartoon Network, MTV and HBO. He has contributed to several anthologies and turned out 10 (and counting) wonderful and wildly well-received books. Yet, he deflects praise with self-deprecating humor, waving off his fleet of Emmys by joking that the only thing they're useful for is hailing a cab.

Mo provides a peek into his sketchbook which reads, "In 1973 American scientists sent Arnold McDonald to the moon and when he wasn't looking, left him there. Contrary to the rules of physics, the scientists' giggles echoed through space for seven weeks."

Mo considers himself retired from TV for now. He credits the career change to the birth of his daughter, Trixie, which brought with it the desire to work from home and have more time with his family. His wife, Cheryl, is CFO of The Mo Willems Studio, Inc. (www.mowillems.com) and runs the business end of things from her home office. Trixie too, though only four, has a role in the family business: resident muse.

Mo's muse. One only has to peek at the dedication pages of Mo's books to guess who inspires many of his creative ideas these days. "For Trixie at bedtime," reads the opening of Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (Hyperion, 2006); Leonardo the Terrible Monster (Hyperion, 2005) begins with "For the Trixter, my own little monster." Then there's the book upon which was bestowed Mo's second Caldecott Honor, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale (Hyperion, 2004). It's the story of Daddy, a little girl named Trixie and their misadventures at the laundromat. The illustrations are a striking contrast of full-color characters in a black-and-white photographic landscape of Mo's neighborhood. Mo and the real-life Trixie narrated the animated adaptation of the book, produced by Weston Woods Studios.

Who does Trixie read, besides her dad? "She lives in a rarified world, because almost every book she reads, she's friends with the author!" Mo laughed, mentioning Kevin Henkes and fellow Brooklynites Jacqueline Woodson and "Uncle Jon" Scieszka as among her favorites.

Mo was, obviously, adept at writing for kids well before having one of his own. "I rankle at the idea that having a child makes you a children's writer. That's like asking a history writer, 'Do you write better history when you've got that time- travel machine?' The effect has been more fundamental; it's changed the way I look at life and the sort of work I want to do in terms of being home."

Just one of the 10-plus titles penned (and inked) by the prolific Mr. Willems.

Back to the bird. The pigeon is quite certain there will be many, many more books about it, but Mo isn't sure. "It's becoming a little bit iconic in a way, which is kind of frightening." He recounted visiting a school and the kids screaming, "PIGEON!" as if at a rock concert when he arrived. The appeal is obvious; the bird uses every line in the book to get its way, and kids get to say "no" to it. They also delight in creating and sending Mo their own sequels. Some of his favorites: Don't Let the Pigeon Operate the Catapult and Don't Let the Pigeon Be the Principal.

The bird is also, as Mo put it, "colossally easy to draw, intentionally -- every five-year-old can draw it. That becomes a point of entry." He said he "infringed on Charles Schulz's copyright" in first grade by copying the Peanuts gang; by third grade he was creating his own characters. He encourages young artists to take the same liberties with his creations. "I love the books I get from kids where the pigeon is with a character they've created. Their art has evolved from mine and they've made their own worlds. That's so cool."

So's Mo.

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Updated October 2009
October 2006, Vol.37, No.2