Mo Willems' sketchbooks

Willems, Mo. Don't Pigeonhole me! Two decades of the Mo Willems Sketchbook, with a foreword by Eric Carle.  New York: Disney, 2013.

When I first picked this up, I expected a huge HUGE biography of Mo Willems.  Perhaps even an autobiography - which meant it would be a combination of poignant and funny.  What I got was something entirely different.

If you ever get invited to dinner at Mo's, you'll discover that the walls of the dining room are actually chalkboard. And the dining room tablecloth is actually covered with sketch paper. Everyone at the table is encouraged to scribble on it during and after the meal. "to doodle over dinner," as Mo calls it. His family does.  His friends do. And sometimes those table doodles become parts of Mo's books.

Everyone knows Don't Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus. (or should)  Everyone knows Elephant and Piggy. (or should)  But few know that these characters first showed up as scribbles on his dining room table. And then graduated into sketchbooks, pieces of which were published yearly as the December issue of a small magazine.

It is these December sketchbooks that are reproduced in this huge, coffee table sized book. Plus comments by other artists and friends.

Eric Carle writes, in his introduction to this books, that this book "will be an inspiration to doodlers and illustrators, secret sketchers and cartoonists -- and to those in the making."

Elephant and Piggie love to party

Why do I have this picture of Elephant and Piggie here?
No reason -- I just LOVE it. Don't you?
(created by Mo Willems, found on Betsy Bird's Fyse #8 blog)

For those of you who don't have a young reader in the house, may I introduce you to the series of easy readers created by Mo Willems about two friends -- Elephant and Piggie. Winner of the ALA Geisel Award plus several honor book awards.
(You've gotta read -- There is a Bird on your Head.
This picture comes from -- I am Invited to a Party)
-wendieO

ALA Saturday

While I"m waiting for the Newbery/ Caldecott banquet to begin, I though I'd jot down some notes about yesterday at ALA. (which might be added to as I remember other things.)

Although I live just an hour and a half from DC, I decided to stay at a hotel. (because the last time it was in Washington, DC, I tried commuting and ended up too tired to drive back, once I got home.) Arrived Friday, late. Long story. Maybe I'll tell it later.

After Saturday breakfast (banana and oatmeal cookie in the room), the first session for me was MOVE OVER DICK AND JANE: Reconsidering Books for Beginning Readers.
--Loved Neal Porter's, editor at Roaring Brook Press, and Laura Vaccaro Seeger's, author/illustrator, presentation, "How to create an early reader without really trying. It was fascinating to see the decisions they made about the book, First the Egg. and other books. Their contention is that many picture books are 'easy readers.' and here's why.
--Alessandra Balzer, from Balzer & Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers talked about Mo Willems's Cat the Cat series, which he is writing for the very, very, very early reader.
-- Geoffrey Hayes demonstrated his very easy reading graphic novels from Toon Books
-- And Cindy Woodruff, Director of Libraries at Gilman Lower School Library in Baltimore rounded out the panel with the school librarian's viewpoint of these books.

The next session was harder to juggle, since it overlapped the luncheon I wanted to attend.

The Harper Collins Children's Books Fall 2010 title presentation was suddenly interrupted by a surprise appearance of MO WILLems, himself. The Last, Final Knuffle Bunny book is coming out -- and it makes him cry. I'm not going to tell you the ending of the story (I got to read a F&G later on the Exhibits floor), but he did say that this book contained his hopes Trixie's future. Plus -- there are references to every one of his book characters (the Pigeon, etc.) hidden in this book. Go find them when you read this book.

Other neat books you should keep a lookout for are--
I'm Big! by that great boy-book team who brought you I'm Dirty, about a garbage truck.
Rescue Bunnies by Doreen Cronin and Scott Menchin
The 25th anniversary edition of If You Give A Mouse a Cookie, with new endpapers
A picture book by Lemony Snicket called 13 Words. (maybe it won't be as offensive as his other picture books. I haven't seen it yet.)
Amelia Bedelia's First Apple Pie by Herman Parish with a new illustrator, Lynne Avril.
A new Little Bear story ! can you believe it? Little Bear and the Marco Polo by Else Holmelund Minarik.
Of course, new Fancy Nancy books -- Fancy Nancy and the Fabulous Fashion Boutique, And the Delectable Cupcakes, and Fancy Nancy: my Family History.
Big Nate Strikes Again -- surprise = NOT an I Can read, but a younger middle grade.
And a reissue of Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. They only showed two of them, but I assume that all three are being reproduced.

Luckily, I'm most interested in the younger Harper books, because at 12 noon, the doors opened to the Margaret Edward's luncheon and I abandoned HarperCollins to attend it. It was important to me because this was the first time the award has been given to a NONFICTION author. And what a great pick it was! I have loved Jim Murphy's books forever.

If you want to read a great interview of him, get the June 2010 issue of School Library Journal, written by the great Anita Silvey. Parts of his wonderful speech came from this interview. By the time he listed four out of the five things he thought a good writer should have, I was kicking myself for not writing them down. They were funny -- and sooo true. (number 3 is 'dumb luck.')

After the luncheon, I ran through part of the exhibits, examining the new books being offered by publishers and trying to find some free swag. (very little free swag handed out this year. Almost all of the books being signed by authors there needed to be purchased -- at a good discount, but still.) Not many bookmarks, my favorite swag, available either.

Soon it was time to meet my friend Cyndy Cotten (author of many fab books) and try to find Tami Lewis Brown's house in Georgetown. She was holding a Tea Party in honor of Katherine Paterson, the current US Library of Congress's National Ambassador for Young People's Literature.

If that was a Tea Party, I'm the Queen of England. She had it catered and the variety and amount of food was amazing. Iced Tea, Lemonade, and cucumber water (and later, champagne) were the 'tea' part of the party. Cheese and sliced veggies inside the house. (and a crowd of people watching the Soccer World Cup in the den.) Small stuffed croissants and desserts on tables in her small, paved yard. (this IS in the city, so no large lawns here.)

Tami is a graduate of and a Trustee of the Vermont College of Fine Arts in Writing for Children and Young Adults. So, naturally there were a lot of local (and not local but here for ALA) VC students and graduates. Major librarians rounded out the crowd.

Afterwards, we packed my car with authors and took M street east until we ended up back at the Washington Convention Center where they decamped to find either their hotel or a subway entrance to go home.
I was a teeny bit tired by the end of the day. Went to bed early. Gotta get up early for a 7:30 breakfast at another Hotel.
-wendieOld

Mo Willems Simulcast in Maryland!

WaHOO!
The Harford County Public Library (Maryland) is one of 200 libraries/schools chosen to host the Mo Willems Simulcast next week. What is a Simulcast? Well, instead of doing a fall tour this year, Mo will instead bring cameras into his studio and show us what it is like to create one of his books. His newest book, Elephant and Piggie: Pigs Make Me Sneeze, will be the book that he focuses on, but I’m sure the Pigeon will have to get his two cents in.

Here are the basics:
--What: Mo Willems Simulcast – a LIVE video visit.
--Where: Bel Air Branch, located in Bel Air, Maryland.
--When: Tuesday, October 6th 2pm
--Who: Mostly for the kids that love Mo’s books, but if adults or teens want to sit in we won’t turn anyone away – we’ll just fill up the room to its capacity.
-- Why: Because HCPL is awesome!

If you happen to live in Harford County or nearby, and want to attend, please call the Bel Air Branch and let the children's department know if you plan on bringing any students.

It's in the middle of the day to accommodate those schools getting the simulcast, but homeschoolers are certainly welcome at the public library's simulcast.
-wendie old
Children's Librarian, HCPL

Sesame Street Connection to Children's Literature

Here I am, reading Street Gang, the Complete History of Sesame Street by Michael Davis, (New York: Viking, 2008), when what to my wondering eyes appear on page 339 but a statement that "writer- animator Mo Willems proposed that "Elmo could exist within a computer generated universe...looking like a child's squiggly crayon drawing come to life.")

Oh- My- Heavens.
One of the stars of children's literature worked on THE Major television program for kids -- and was responsible for the look of one of the most famous segments in Sesame Street of all time!

Here I was, trudging through this book (itching to rewrite some of the more awkward sentences in it -- that editors leave in adult books but would never forgive in children's books), wondering why the Sesame Street that my grandkids watch is so different from the show my first batch of kids watched -- and here I find out that Mo is one of the people responsible for the new look. (He's not responsible for the reasons they had to find a new look -- Barney is. Go read it for yourself and see.)

For those of you who are living in worlds not related to children's literature, Mo Willems keeps winning awards for a variety of his children's books. This month another of his Elephant and Piggy books garnered him his second Theodor Seuss Geisel Beginning Reader Award. (He already has an ALA Caldecott honor award for his Knuffle Bunny : a cautionary tale.)

The other reason I picked up the book is that I'm always interested in reading about Kevin Clash -- the guy who brings Elmo to life.

Many years ago I worked as a librarian in the area of Maryland where Kevin grew up. I remember this boy who would bring his puppets to the library to give puppet shows. (scheduled for a half hour, it was difficult to convince him to stop after an hour had passed) I keep reading books about Sesame Street and about Kevin to see if he ever mentions performing at our library, but nope. One book about him mentioned his performing at the Baltimore City libraries, but no mention of his local Turner Station library or the nearby North Point one in the county that surrounds the city. (a different library system entirely)
-wendieO

Nonfiction Monday -- Bookcart Drill Teams

HuH?
Yes folks, there really is such a thing as Library Bookcart Drill Team contests.

Just click on the link and you'll not only see videos of last June's action (at the American Library Association Annual Convention) but you'll hear the blow by blow action commentary by none other than Geisel winner and Caldecott honor author/ illustrator Mo Willems. (link is to his blog, so enjoy reading the rest of it, too.) The other voice you hear is Jon Scieska -- another wild and crazy guy.

How does linking to a fiction writer count as a Nonfiction Monday entry on this blog?

Well -- I kinda thought that, since the videos really truely happened, it was live nonfiction in action.
Plus -- I don't have time to post a real review of a book because my Vermont College packet is due and I still have to write more book annotations for it.

For the rest of the REAL Nonfiction Monday book reviews, click here.
-wendieO (posting this in the middle of the night because her left shoulder still hurts and it woke her up)

Monday at ALA

Again, I would have loved to attend the program called "Research fuels the Author's Fire" with Carol Gorman and Jackie Briggs Martin. But 8:00 am? not possible.

I had to skip the program about Read between the Lions join forces with Libraries to improve literacy, too. Why?
Because it conflicted with the ALSC award ceremony and I had to see several friends, and authors I respect but don't actually know, be honored with awards.

The Geisel award for early reader (easy reader?) books had several honor books. Among them was one (Vulture View) by online friend, April Pulley Sayre. The winner of the award was the wild and crazy MO Willems. His winning book was "There is a Bird on Your Head," part of his funny elephant and Piggy series. When his name was announced, the whole Geisel committee stood up -- with birds on their heads.

As Mo came up to accept his award, he swiped one of those headbands with birds attached and proceeded to wear it for the rest of the day. After a few thank-yous, he launched into his speech -- In easy reader, short words with repetitive sentences. Every time one of the sentences moved naturally into a longer word, he would begin it. Then stop. Then attempt to find a short, easy reader word to replace it. The audience went from quiet giggling to uproarious laughter by the end of his speech.

Naturally I had to, later that afternoon, get into the line at Hyperion's booth to get him to sign two titles from that series. I flew home with my almost 6-year old grandchild and she read it to me during the flight. We had a little fight over who was going to get the title with the nice gold seal on it.
hmmm. when I unpacked, I discovered it was NOT in my carryon bag. The little rascal had managed to scoop up both books to take to her house.

In the afternoon I had intended to attend "Celebrating Children's Book Week: A How-to for creating Innovative Youth Programs." Sounds good, right. Well, it may have become good, but I bailed out after the second speaker told more about the history of the week.

Instead, I went across the hall and enjoyed the remainder of "Handmade Tales: Stories to make and Take." Again I was not able to get any of the handouts, but I learned how to manipulate a bandana into "Bandana Man!" (variation on Gingerbread Man) and other neat things to use in storytime.

The handouts for all the programs I've mentioned in these ALA messages have been uploaded onto the ALSC website and YOU can download copies for yourself. (I certainly will, since I missed getting most of the few handouts available at the Conference.)
-wendieO