Don't Let the Pigeon Use the Camera!

(joint post)

You missed it? Too bad.

Mo Willems believes author talks should be experienced, not documented. So during yesterday’s visit to the Cambridge Public Library, after posing for a brief photo shoot, he asked everyone in the audience to refrain from taking photos or video. Or “I will shame you.” His words, not ours.

Tom Warburton, left, and Mo Willems, right.

See what you missed?

Willems was there with Tom Warburton to promote their latest book, Don’t Let the Pigeon Finish This Activity Book! Families started lining up an hour before the event, and the library was certainly ready for the crowd, as evidenced by this poster in the Children’s Room:

Willems’ publisher had sent 200 pairs of (child-safe) scissors and other crafty tools, because part of the talk involved making Pigeon finger puppets and participating in a live, ad-libbed play. There was a lot of enthusiastic mooing all around from both kids and parents!

Chasing continues until the audience leaves or the actors fall down in exhaustion.

Other highlights:

• Willems reading the latest Elephant and Piggie Book Let’s Go For a Drive!, complete with in-character voices and interpretive freestyle dancing
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was Willems’ first published book, but he wrote his first book at the age of 7 or 8, about a superhero named LaserBrain
• Willems refuses to dictate whether Knuffle Bunny should be pronounced with or without the “k,” because it’s “awesome” when people argue about the right way to say the word
• Willems told us, you can ask me anything you want…and I’ll answer anything I want!
• The art of storytelling is about making stuff up from the truth, so when teachers announce it’s story-time, what they’re really saying is it’s “lying time.”

 

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