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A video interview with

Mo Willems

Mo Willems

Caldecott-winner Mo Willems grew up in New Orleans. He spent much of his youth telling stories and drawing. Willems especially loved reading "Peanuts" comics and then sketching Snoopy and Charlie Brown himself. "I even wrote a letter to Charles Schulz," Willems recalls, "saying that I wanted his job when he died." During high school, Willems acted in plays and started doing standup routines at comedy clubs.

Click on the links below‡ to watch this interview online, or read the interview transcript. You can also read a short biography of Mo Willems or see a selected list of his children's books.

View online

  • Peanuts (0:45)

    In this video clip, Mo Willems explains how Charles Schulz influenced his career.

  • Bad jokes (0:20)

    As a standup comedian, Mo Willems found out very quickly which jokes were funny - and which ones weren't.

  • Sunny days (1:20)

    In this video clip, Willems describes what it was like to work for Sesame Street.

  • Boring, but tedious (1:00)

    Willems gives the inside scoop on what really goes into making cartoons.

  • A demanding doodle (1:35)

    Willems describes how he transitioned from television into children's books.

  • More than meets the eye (1:35)

    Willems talks about the unseen work that goes into making a book like Knuffle Bunny.

  • Punk rock pigeon (0:45)

    Willems explains why his pigeon strikes such a raucous chord with kids.

  • Draw it yourself (0:30)

    When Willems draws a character, he wants four year-olds to be able to draw it, too.

‡ This video clip will appear in Windows Media Player, which most computers already have installed, or you can download it now. Macintosh users can download the free Flip4Mac playback file, which allows you to play Windows Media files in your Quicktime player.

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