Q: I’m doing a paper on you for my college course. What can you tell me about yourself to help me ace my paper?

Well, how’s about the incomplete, yet maybe helpful:

MO WILLEMS RESOURCE GUIDE.

My family and I live in Massachusetts (I have a wife, a daughter, and a dog, which means I’m outnumbered).

My birthday is February 11th.

I grew up in New Orleans, but my parents are Dutch (confusing, huh?)

Mostly, I draw the pictures in my books with pencils, pens, and crayons and color them using a computer. The Knuffle Bunny books feature digital photography that has been altered with ink drawings placed on top.

My favorite book is my next one. I’m always hoping to make my next book my best one.

I find ideas the same place that you do: I make them up. I just spend a whole lot of time playing with them before putting them in a book.

My guiding philosophy is: "Always think about your audience, never think for your audience."


Here are a few websites that might be helpful to you:

PigeonPresents.com : for games, coloring activities, video interviews, and information on upcoming Hyperion books.

GoMo.net: much like PigeonPresents, but featuring characters published by HarperCollins.

My blog with background on past work, inspirational drawings, etc… (also links to current interviews)

My US publisher, Hyperion Books for Children has produced Teachers’ Guides for the Pigeon and Knuffle Bunny.

My UK publisher, Walker Books, has a short, informative page, including “10 Things You Don’t Know About Mo”.

Remember that sites such as IMDB.com, Tvtome.com, and Wikipedia can be updated by anyone and are notoriously inaccurate.

Good luck on your paper!