Mo Willems’ children’s books begin before a page has been turned. The size, shape and look of each book is very particular: just to hold one in your hands is almost a theatrical experience. The book for Leonardo the Terrible Monster (as well as the sequel Sam the Most Scaredy-Cat Kid in the Whole World) is huge. That’s all part of the cunning plan, says Willems: “In the case of Leonardo, he is powerless, he is awkward, he is small. A book is a piece of sculpture and if this one is somewhat awkward to hold, maybe that will engender some empathy for Leonardo’s awkwardness.”
Willems’ book “sculptures” about Leonardo, the scary monster who is decidedly unscary, are now being staged by Chicago-based theatre troupe Manual Cinema. It was Willems who first approached the company when he was beginning his artistic residency at the Kennedy Center in Washington DC in 2019, during which a wide range of artists re-interpreted his award-winning books: “I loved how fresh and exuberant their work felt. I’m always looking for the spark in any work that carries through past the performance and inspires the audience with the delicious thought that they can do something like that too.”
