Mo Willems: Last News

AuthorMo Willems, Stampede Ventures, and RedBird Capital Partners have formed Hidden Pigeon Company, a multiplatform kids and family content venture that will leverage Willems’ best-selling catalogue of children’s books and intellectual property across all entertainment platforms.

Sophia Scorziello editor Children’s book author Mo Willems, who is known for his stories like “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” and “Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!” has partnered with Stampede Ventures and RedBird Capital Partners to launch Hidden Pigeon Company. The entertainment company will bring Willem’s storytelling to children and families through television programming, gaming, location-based experiences and other platforms. “The Hidden Pigeon Company takes its name from how kids and former kids delight in finding The Pigeon hidden in every one of my books,” said Willems. “It is my hope to create a similar bit of surprise and delight in the fabric of everything we make or do. I am thrilled to have found wonderful collaborative partners to make that hope a reality.”

EXCLUSIVE: Stampede Ventures has acquired the rights to Nick Schenk’s action spec script Galahad, and is beginning to package it as a film, eyeing A-list directors for the first feature in a potential new franchise.

WarnerMedia Kids and Family announced plans to expand its partnership with children’s book author, illustrator and playwright Mo Willems — including a slate of originals for HBO Max and Cartoon Network. With Stampede Ventures as producing partner, Willems signed a multi-year deal with WarnerMedia Kids and Family to create live-action “Storytime Specials,” as well as multiple animated and live-action series based on his children’s books. “Mo Willems and The Storytime All-Stars Present: Don’t Let the Pigeon Do Storytime!” and “Mo Willems Story Time Shorts!” are now available to stream on HBO Max.

Cartoonito, WarnerMedia Kids & Family’s new preschool programming block, launched Monday on HBO Max and Cartoon Network and used the occasion to reveal that it has set casts for a pair of animated projects — a Batwheels series that will feature Ethan Hawke as the voice of Batman and its Mo Willems one-hour rock opera Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience. It also greenlighted the first preschool animated series starring Tom and Jerry.

Norton Juster, the celebrated children's author who fashioned a world of his own in the classic The Phantom Tollbooth and went on to write such favorites as The Dot and the Line and Stark Naked, has died at 91. Juster's death was confirmed Tuesday by a spokesperson for Random House Children's Books, who did not immediately provide details.

The Phantom Tollbooth” and remained true to his wide-eyed self in such favorites as “The Dot and the Line” and “Stark Naked,” has died at 91.Juster’s death was confirmed Tuesday by a spokesperson for Random House Children’s Books, who did not immediately provide details.

Eli Countryman HBO Max has acquired the rights to stream children’s book author Mo Willems’ collection of animated shorts, “Mo Willems Storytime Shorts.”The collection is scheduled to premiere on the platform Sept. 17, when 15 shorts from 2006 to 2019 will be made available.

Schools across the world are closing down right now in response to the coronavirus pandemic, which means for the next few weeks at least, families will have to help fill in the gaps for children to make sure those little ones don't get too unaccustomed to learning during this unexpected social distancing break (and, let's be honest, we don't want to go gray prematurely in the process, either).