劲爆大瓜

NEW YORK (AP) 鈥� 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 57, is best known for his like the Caldecott Award-winning 鈥淒on鈥檛 Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!鈥� and 鈥淜nuffle Bunny.鈥� His latest book, 鈥淲ill the Pigeon Graduate?鈥� may look like it鈥檚 aimed at children, but the titular Pigeon鈥檚 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, 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� and the purpose of life. Answers have been edited for clarity and brevity.

AP: How did graduation come to mind for a book topic?

WILLEMS: As I am getting older, which I am, I鈥檓 getting into a new part of my life. And I鈥檓 wondering, am I equipped to be living in this part of life? And as I ask that question and I don鈥檛 have the answers, then I think, well, what is that metaphor that kids are going through? And graduation seemed like the perfect thing. I鈥檓 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鈥檙e a pigeon, but thank you for contributing to the conversation.

THE PIGEON: Of course.

AP: People may think this is just for graduates, but could it be about any transition?

WILLEMS: I think it鈥檚 about asking yourself, 鈥淎m I equipped for something that scares me?鈥� The real world is scary. We鈥檙e always asking ourselves those questions. And often the answer is ... I don鈥檛 know. And that鈥檚 something that might feel uncomfortable to sit with, but it鈥檚 also something that鈥檚 very, very exciting. So like right now, I鈥檓 doing an interview with you and a giant pigeon. Is this gonna work out? If I鈥檓 going to get a little bit philosophical, I would say often we鈥檙e 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, 鈥淥h, you鈥檒l be fine.鈥�

AP: Mr. Pigeon, what is your favorite part about collaborating on this book?

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

AP (to Willems): Can you reflect on your nine seasons as a writer and animator on 鈥淪esame Street,鈥� winning six Emmys and helping to develop 鈥淓lmo鈥檚 World鈥�?

WILLEMS: My love of puppets, my love of sketch comedy, my love of counting to 40 鈥� all these things that I really, really love 鈥� came from 鈥淪esame Street鈥�! And when it came time for me to make books, one of the things that I got to do that we didn鈥檛 get to do on 鈥淪esame Street鈥� 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.

AP: Obviously, one of the book鈥檚 messages is you have to believe in yourself.

WILLEMS: I don鈥檛 know. I鈥檓 glad that you think that that鈥檚 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.

AP: Mr. Pigeon, do you think your participation in this makes you a little bit of a philosopher?

THE PIGEON: Yeah, I think there鈥檚 a lot of very powerful things going on up here in this little bird brain. There鈥檚 a lot of really deep questions, like, I don鈥檛 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?

Brooke Lefferts, The Associated Press