About
Maurice Charles Willems (born February 11, 1968) is an American writer, animator, voice actor, and children’s book author. His work includes creating the animated television series Sheep in the Big City for Cartoon Network, working on Sesame Street and The Off-Beats, and creating the children’s book Knuffle Bunny and the children’s book series Elephant & Piggie.
Willems was born in the Chicago suburb of Des Plaines, Illinois and was raised in New Orleans, where he graduated from Trinity Episcopal School and the Isidore Newman School. He graduated cum laude from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Three of Willems’s books have been awarded a Caldecott Honor, for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity. The third book also won the Indies Choice Book Award for Children’s Illustrated Book.
Willems’s parents were from the Netherlands and grew up there during World War II. His mother was a corporate attorney and an honorary consul to the Dutch Embassy. His father was from Nijmegen. When Willems was about three years of age, he took interest in cartoon artwork, drawing and creating…
Awards & Recognition
Born On This Day
Bio and photo via Wikipedia, used under Creative Commons licensing.