The New-York Historical Society Opens an Exhibit Dedicated to Children’s Author Mo Willems

By Samantha Neudorf March 17, 2016

Beloved children’s author and illustrator, and former Sesame Street writer Mo Willems now has an exhibit all about his work at the New-York Historical Society.

Located on the second floor of the Upper West Side museum, the exhibit is called “The Art and Whimsy of Mo Willems” and highlights the creative process that goes through Willems’ mind when coming up with book concepts. Some of his famous works include the New York Times bestseller Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, the Knuffle Bunny series, and Elephant and Piggie. Most characters and stories are set in New York City, capturing what life is like for a city dweller.

Visitors can view how his characters are developed, from original artwork to the final product, and are invited to listen to the family audio guide, narrated by Willems himself. At the end of the gallery, there is a store of some of Willems’ characters as stuffed animals, finger puppets, and bookends.

Willems revealed at the exhibit unveiling on March 17 that his idea of a successful book is one that looks like it took five minutes to create, even though it is a much longer process. His role model was Charles Schulz, cartoonist of Peanuts, and loved Snoopy growing up.

“The Art and Whimsy of Mo Willems” will be on display from March 18 through September 25. There will be other weekend programming with Mo Willems. For more information, visit nyhistory.org.

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