Books by Mo Willems and Complete Book Reviews

Mo Willems, Author . Hyperion $12.99 (36p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1868-6
Not surprisingly, the author of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus infuses this potty training manual with saucy wit. Nonetheless, empathy underscores every laugh. From the beginning, Willems addresses the child's perspective: "If you...
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Mo Willems, Author . Hyperion $12.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1869-3
In Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, the hero was subordinate to an unseen person who withheld bus-driving permission; here he has the dominant role and must placate his own pesky interloper, as he bargains with a duckling over a discarded...
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Mo Willems, Author . Hyperion $15.99 (36p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1870-9
Any child who has ever had a favorite toy will identify with the toddler star of this tale. The plot is simple: Trixie loses bunny, finds bunny and then exuberantly says her first words—"Knuffle Bunny!!!" The fun comes from the details.
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Mo Willems, Author . Hyperion $12.99 (36p) ISBN 978-0-7868-1988-1
The premise of this cheeky debut is charmingly absurd. When a bus driver goes on break, he asks the audience to keep an eye on his vehicle and the daft, bug-eyed pigeon who desperately wants to drive it. The pigeon then relentlessly begs readers for
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Mo Willems, Author . Hyperion $15.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-7868-5294-9
Picture books commonly suggest that monsters, like certain bullies, are insecure and make marvelous playmates. Pint-size Leonardo, a case in point, is "a terrible monster" because "he couldn't scare anyone." As he roars, two...
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-368-01352-9
G is for gluttony (ok, “gravy,” technically) in Willems’s madcap abecedary, built around a youngster who devours everything in sight, then suffers the consequences. Purple, wide-eyed, and resembling a cross between a monkey, dog, and Muppet, the...
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Mo Willems. Disney-Hyperion, $8.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-4231-4342-0
It’s “the best day of the year”—Happy Pig Day! Piggie goes hog-wild with her porcine friends, but Gerald feels left out and shrinks away. After Piggie finds her friend, Gerald works himself into an existential meltdown: “I do not have a snout. I do...
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Mo Willems. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (72p) ISBN 978-0-06-200400-0
Six and a half short stories make up this expertly paced page-turner about a girl and her toy alligator, laced with the kid-centric humor on which Willems has built his career. Willems presents everyday, indoor interactions between Amanda and her...
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Mo Willems, HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (52p) ISBN 978-0-06-192957-1
In this poignant vacation-themed conclusion to Willems's Knuffle Bunny series, Trixie accidentally forgets her beloved stuffed toy on an international flight, as she travels from Brooklyn to Holland with her parents to visit her Dutch grandparents.
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Mo Willems, illus. by Amber Ren. Hyperion, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-136801901-9
A quiet Willems book traces a child’s path to her musical vocation as the consequence of a string of events and contributions: “Because a man named Ludwig wrote beautiful music—/ a man named Franz was inspired to create his own.” For the love of...
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Mo Willems, illus. by Tony DiTerlizzi. Disney-Hyperion, $14.99 (80p) ISBN 978-1-4847-2284-8
Inspired by a real-life dog and cat Willems met during a stay in Paris, this tender friendship story traces the developing rapport between Diva, a small dog who takes seriously the job of guarding her home on 11 avenue le Play, and a roving black...
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Mo Willems, illus. by Jon J Muth, DisneyHyperion, $17.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-4231-03004
Muth (Zen Shorts) sets a limpid rural scene for Willems's (Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed) two unlikely friends in this tranquil tale of change. One spring day, redolent with fresh yellow-greens and pale blues, City Dog tastes life "without a leash!"...
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4847-2286-2
Three-time Caldecott Honor–recipient Willems celebrates the allure of fresh-baked bread in this tale of good intentions. Nanette is a French schoolgirl in a quaint straw hat and plaid skirt. (Ce n’est pas gentil to depict her as a frog, peut-être,...
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator Hyperion $19.99 (16p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1436-9
A larger-than-life frog can’t fit into this self-proclaimed “pop out” book. “If only she were smaller,” Big Frog thinks, as a pull tab lets readers shrink her extra-long legs (turning her frown into a toothy smile);...
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-9087-5
Somewhere between aspirations of locomotion, pining for a puppy, and scrambling to finish an activity book, the Pigeon got pretty dirty. Don't tell him that, though. In enduring Willems style, the Pigeon invites reader participation through...
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $15.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4847-6746-7
Willems (the Elephant and Piggie series) rolls out the red carpet for a new baby, writing in a voice that’s part preflight safety demonstration (“There will be turbulence”), part waiter’s spiel (“Of our current offerings, I can personally recommend...
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Mo Willems. Disney-Hyperion, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-368-00214-1
Twelve years after Leonardo, the Terrible Monster, Willems brings back Leonardo the monster and Sam, the boy who’s afraid of everything (except Leo). Sam grabs the spotlight in this sequel, but he has competition: after running into a girl named...
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $12.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-3746-5
Double agent that he is, Willems reveals proven bedtime-delaying strategies to children and child-wranglers alike. As in his Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! , a fatherly figure cheerfully delivers the title instructions and tiptoes offstage,
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $12.99 (96p) ISBN 978-1-368-02457-0
Full of signature Willems hilarity, this beginning reader series opener stars 16 squirrels whose cheerful energy bursts from the pages. When Zoom Squirrel tells the other squirrels about its lost tooth (“Th! Th! Th!” Zoom keeps saying, experimenting
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-5293-2
Willems's assertive characters know what they want, but they seldom ask for it politely. In this etiquette lesson (from which Pigeon, star of a few other of Willems's picture books, could benefit), the author explains the tactical usefulness
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Mo Willems. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (48p) ISBN 978-0-06-220309-0
Willems, whose Goldilocks and the Three Dinosaurs also operated on a balance of threat and humor, models this suspenseful picture book after a silent movie. The sequence concerns a dastardly villain, played by a smirking fox in a top hat, and an...
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . HarperCollins/Balzer & Bray $12.99 (0p) ISBN 978-0-06-172840-2
In Cat the Cat's friendly world, names are an uncomplicated affair, most of the time. This early reader pictures Cat, an irrepressible kitty in a purple dress, skipping and cartwheeling to greet pals like Mouse the Mouse and Fish the Fish. All...
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Disney-Hyperion $8.99 (57p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1410-9
In this humorous outing, Gerald the elephant and Piggie debate whether or not “elephants can dance.” Gerald, who is convinced that he cannot (he tells Piggie to look it up in the “What Elephants Can Do” book) decides to give...
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-1437-6
In the opening pages of this buoyant picture book, Willems (Knuffle Bunny ) informs readers that “for this story” they need only know three things about naked mole rats: “1. They are a little bit rat. 2. They are a little bit mole.
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $14.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-42310-960-0
Unforgettably introduced in Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! Willems's id-with-wings reveals that he's wanted a puppy “forever.... At least since last Tuesday” and swears he's ready to assume the responsibility of pet ownership (“I promise
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $16.99 (48p) ISBN 978-1-4231-0299-1
In this sympathetic sequel to Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale , former toddler Trixie gains verbal dexterity and still treasures her rag doll, Knuffle Bunny. Tugging her gangly, red-haired father along the sidewalk, she hurries to her preschool̵
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $8.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-4231-0297-7
Willems (Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! ) introduces two best friends in the paper-over-board Elephant & Piggie books: a naysaying gray bespectacled pachyderm and an optimistic pink porker, whose opposing temperaments serve as the bases
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Mo Willems, Author, Mo Willems, Illustrator . Hyperion $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-7868-3748-9
Matronly Edwina, a lichen-green T. Rex wearing a beribboned straw bonnet and toting a lavender handbag on her claw, loves doing community service. Crayony sketches show her fixing a street lamp (no ladder necessary) and letting kids slide down her...
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $15.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-4231-5128-9
Where an exclamation point conveyed birdy delight in Willems’s The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! this title’s interrobang implies shock at the Duckling’s good fortune. As the sequence opens, the yellow Duckling requests a cookie, receives one immediately,
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Mo Willems. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $17.99 (40p) ISBN 978-0-06-210418-2
In this sly sendup, Goldilocks (who could be a cousin of Knuffle Bunny’s Trixie) ventures into the home of three diabolical dinosaurs. Having cooked up three bowls of chocolate pudding and arranged their house “just so,” the two olive-green T....
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Mo Willems and Mr. Warburton. Hyperion, $19.99 paper (272p) ISBN 978-1-4231-3310-0
Willems and Codename: Kids Next Door creator Warburton allow readers to really get in touch with Pigeon, Duckling, and other beloved characters in a banter-filled activity book with a hilariously digressive narrative. On each perforated page, the...
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LeUyen Pham. Disney-Hyperion, $9.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-368-005647
Behind the giggles offered by this easy reader in the Elephant and Piggie Like Reading line, a provocative question lurks: do those with authority really know what’s going on? Words carved into a stone catch the attention of a bespectacled dinosaur,
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Laurie Keller and Mo Willems. Hyperion, $9.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-4847-2635-8
Keller (the Adventures of Arnie the Doughnut) teams up with Willems for one of two titles launching the Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series; vignettes featuring Willems's two pals bookend this story. "It is as exciting as watching grass grow,"...
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Dan Santat and Mo Willems. Hyperion, $9.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-4847-2636-5
Three cookies + four friends = a big problem in Caldecott Medalist Santat's (The Adventures of Beekle) entertaining contribution to the new Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series of beginning readers. "Hey, guys! Cookie time!" booms an enormous...
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Andrea Tsurumi and Mo Willems. Hyperion, $9.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-368-06696-9
Prepositions pile up to dizzying heights in this early reader extravaganza by Tsurumi (Sharko and Hippo), part of Mo Willems’s Elephant & Piggie Like Reading! series. The contest between Frog and Goat, drafted in clean, sure lines, begins as a...
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $16.99 (40p) ISBN 978-1-368-04645-9
At long last, the school bell tolls for Pigeon, despite his insistence that “I already know EVERYTHING!” But as longtime readers of Willems’s series know, there’s a little bird beneath all that bluster, and Pigeon soon reveals that school has turned
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Mo Willems. Hyperion, $14.99 (24p) ISBN 978-1-368-07097-3
In this high-concept, image-focused picture book, Caldecott Honoree Willems explores the fundamentals of so-called opposites and playfully interrogates nonfigurative images’ associations. His tools are 18 high-contrast abstract paintings in acrylic...
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Mo Willems. Union Square Kids, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4549-4818-6
Willems (Opposites Abstract) takes the idea of relative size and pursues it all the way out into the universe in this conceptual title. “Are you big?” a narrating voice asks via bold, blocky text that occupies the book’s verso pages throughout. On...
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Mo Willems. Union Square, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-4549-5149-0
Via anthropomorphized rabbits who represent the words me, you, we, them, and us, Willems (Are You Big?) movingly explores themes of individuality and belonging. Throughout the visually straightforward work, what distinguishes the terms is a...
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Jerome and Jarrett Pumphrey, with Mo Willems. Hyperion, $10.99 (64p) ISBN 978-1-368-07584-8
The Pumphrey brothers (Somewhere in the Bayou) join this series with an all-dialogue early reader that cleverly builds on a concept while tapping into readers’ passion for categorization. Foam-stamped, digitally finished illustrations, set against...
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ARTICLES
  • The More You 'Mo': A Tour of 'The Art and Whimsy of Mo Willems'
  • BookExpo 2017: Welcoming New Babies: Mo Willems
  • Cover Reveal: Mo Willems's 'The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!'
  • Q & A with Mo Willems
  • Mo Willems's Pigeon to Ride Again with Union Square
  • First Adult Book by Mo Willems Due Out Next Spring
  • Mo Willems Forms Hidden Pigeon Company to Expand IP Library
  • New York Yankees Partner with Hidden Pigeon Company
  • Q & A with Mo Willems
  • U.S. Book Show 2022: Mo Willems
  • Q & A with Mo Willems
  • U.S. Book Show 2022: Mo Willems
  • Q & A with Mo Willems
  • U.S. Book Show 2022: Mo Willems
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