Kids author Mo Willems and The Pigeon stare down the future in a new book

NEW YORK (AP) — Author Mo Willems has sold millions of books and won many awards, but the accolade that means most to him is when a parent says their child read aloud for the first time from one of his books.

The author, illustrator and animator, 57, is best known for his bestselling picture books like the Caldecott Award-winning “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” and “Knuffle Bunny.” His latest book, “Will the Pigeon Graduate?” may look like it’s aimed at children, but the titular Pigeon’s fear of failure and an uncertain future are sure to resonate with people of all ages, especially during graduation season.

Willems and his trusty friend The Pigeon (charmingly represented by puppeteer Bradley Freeman Jr.) recently sat down with The Associated Press for an interview about graduating, “Sesame Street,” and the purpose of life. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

WILLEMS: As I am getting older, which I am, I’m getting into a new part of my life. And I’m wondering, am I equipped to be living in this part of life? And as I ask that question and I don’t have the answers, then I think, well, what is that metaphor that kids are going through? And graduation seemed like the perfect thing. I’m graduating to a new stage in my life, and kids do this all the time. You graduate to tying your shoe. You graduate the first time you read.

THE PIGEON: Like driving a bus.

WILLEMS: Yeah, well, except for driving a bus. That is something you cannot graduate to, if you’re a pigeon, but thank you for contributing to the conversation.

THE PIGEON: Of course.

WILLEMS: I think it’s about asking yourself, “Am I equipped for something that scares me?” The real world is scary. We’re always asking ourselves those questions. And often the answer is ... I don’t know. And that’s something that might feel uncomfortable to sit with, but it’s also something that’s very, very exciting. So like right now, I’m doing an interview with you and a giant pigeon. Is this gonna work out? If I’m going to get a little bit philosophical, I would say often we’re trying to give the answers, and I think kids get exhausted from it. I want to give them the questions. I want them to have a chance to live with these questions themselves and work their way into an answer rather than telling them, “Oh, you’ll be fine.”

THE PIGEON: I really like how all of the books are about me. I like how I’m on, like, almost every page. You know, all of these books go through an approval process, and I get sent advanced — I call them screeners, nobody likes when I call them that! — but I get to look at them. And if I’m not on the first page and the last page, it does not get approved.

WILLEMS: My love of puppets, my love of sketch comedy, my love of counting to 40 — all these things that I really, really love — came from “Sesame Street”! And when it came time for me to make books, one of the things that I got to do that we didn’t get to do on “Sesame Street” at the time was write about failure. Write about not driving the bus rather than driving the bus. So on one level, it was like going to grad school. I loved it. I learned so much. I met all of these great puppets and puppeteers. On the other, the restrictions of the show allowed me to find my own voice.

WILLEMS: I don’t know. I’m glad that you think that that’s one of the messages because you brought something to that book. I only write 49% of the book. You put the meaning in the book; if the book is meaningful, that is because you are putting yourself within it. I try not to have messages as much as I can. I really try to live in the question.

THE PIGEON: Yeah, I think there’s a lot of very powerful things going on up here in this little bird brain. There’s a lot of really deep questions, like, I don’t know, can I drive the bus, maybe? You know, wondering maybe if I can stay up late? That would be really great.

WILLEMS: These are all fundamental Greek philosophical questions.

THE PIGEON: And what is the purpose of life?

WILLEMS: What is the purpose of life? Why are we here? Why are people mean? Why are people nice? Can I drive the bus?

THE PIGEON: Can I have a hot dog?

Author Mo Willems poses with The Pigeon, a character in his children's books, on April 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Author Mo Willems poses with The Pigeon, a character in his children's books, on April 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Children's book author Mo Willems poses for a portrait on April 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Author Mo Willems poses with The Pigeon, a character in his children's books, on April 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

Author Mo Willems poses with The Pigeon, a character in his children's books, on April 22, 2025, in New York. (AP Photo/Gary Gerard Hamilton)

BOGUE CHITTO, Miss. (AP) — Powerful storms that included at least three tornadoes tore through several Mississippi counties, damaging around 500 homes, uprooting trees and injuring at least 17 people, authorities said Thursday.

There were no immediate reports of deaths after storms cut across the state's southwest on Wednesday night, said Scott Simmons, a spokesperson for the Mississippi Emergency Management Agency.

He said 12 of those hurt were transported from a hard-hit trailer park in the small community of Bogue Chitto, about an hour's drive south of the state capital in rural Lincoln County.

Most of the two dozen homes at Gene’s Mobile Home Supply were flattened into heaps of splintered boards and twisted metal. People picked through the debris Thursday morning under cloudy skies as a chainsaw buzzed in the background.

“I was just watching TikTok on my bed and thought it was thunder. I went to my living room. I went back to my room, and the room’s gone,” resident Max Mahaffey told WAPT-TV.

He said he wasn't injured, but his grandmother hurt her ankle and some of his neighbors suffered cuts and bruises.

One intact trailer lay flipped on its roof near the tree line. Several cars, some with hazard lights blinking, appeared to have been picked up by the storm.

“We know there were at least three tornadoes,” said Daniel Lamb, a meteorologist in the National Weather Service office in Jackson.

“The same storm produced at least two tornadoes from Franklin, Lincoln into Lawrence counties, and then there was another one from Lamar possibly into Forest County.”

He said there may have been more. “Those are just the ones that we are able to confirm by radar before even having gone down there.”

“Pray for Mississippi,” Gov. Tate Reeves posted online, saying the state Emergency Management Agency was coordinating response efforts.

Many roads were still blocked in Lincoln County and teams from the agency were assessing the damage.

“We ask that you please refrain from sightseeing as crews are working,” the department posted early Thursday.

The governor said a volunteer rescue group was providing a 50-person shelter pod, a high-powered generator and 10 pallets of supplies to the county, which reported at least 200 damaged homes.

Lamar County to the southeast reported about 275 homes damaged, according to the state emergency management agency. Another 10 to 12 homes were damaged in Lawrence County.

More storms were expected Thursday with the possibility of tornadoes across parts of Alabama, Georgia and Florida, the weather service said. Strong storms also were possible for parts of the Carolinas and Texas.

McCormack reported from Concord, New Hampshire.

In this frame grab from video taken by WDAM, damaged trees and a house or structure following a storm that tore through part of Lamar County, Mississippi, Wednesday, May 6, 2026. (WDAM via AP)