However, my child has always been a person to me, rather than a kid stuck at an age. I love hanging out with little kids their honesty, humor and skewed view of reality is too fun to ignore. As your own child grows up, what do you miss most about having a really little kid around? Knuffle Bunny Free literally makes me tear up every time I read it. When the Kennedy Center asked if they could make a musical based on Knuffle Bunny, I replied foolishly, “Only if I get to write it and the big aria is sung entirely in gibberish.” Even more foolishly, they said, “Okay.” We spent the next couple of years being foolish together and the result is the musical, which, thanks to the help of many others who actually knew what they were doing, came out pretty well. How did the Knuffle Bunny musical come about?

Luckily, she handles that disconnect, as she does most things, with great grace and is very sweet to young kids excited about meeting “the REAL Trixie.” I suppose I’m naïve, but it never occurred to me that I would be saddling my daughter with being both a real kid and fictional character simultaneously. How does your real-life daughter Trixie like being immortalized in the Knuffle Bunny series? Was it inspired by something that really happened?Įverything in Knuffle Bunny is true except for the parts that I made up. The most important question first: 'Kuh-nuffle' or 'Nuffle'? Turns out he's as sassy as his famous Pigeon. Meanwhile his sassy Pigeon character is starring in his own app: Don't Let the Pigeon Run This App! Despite his insane schedule (remember he's a dad, too), Willems graciously agreed to answer our questions about his work, his family and his favorite things to do in NYC. This weekend, his book Knuffle Bunny comes alive as a stage musical at the Skirball Center. But really, his most impressive credentials are how much kids (and parents) love and relate to his work. But many of his most beloved book series, including Pigeon, Elephant and Piggie, and Knuffle, were originally created when he lived in NYC, so he's definitely a local celeb in our book.įor his work as an author and illustrator, Willems has received three Caldecott Honors and two Theodore Seuss Geisel Medals, and he won six Emmys during his stint as a writer on Sesame Street (another iconic NYC work of art).

Since his Knuffle Bunny series of children's books are clearly set in Brooklyn, we'll always think of Mo Willems as a New Yorker-even if technically he doesn't live here anymore.

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