Mo Willems’ All New Snack Doodles Is Coming To YouTube

I want you to time travel with me for a moment. Specifically, I want us to go back to four years ago. “OMG, to 2020?!” you’re now saying. “Why on Earth would you want me to do that?!” Bear with me, it’s for a good reason. True, not much good came of that cursed year. But there were some fun things. Remember all the sourdough? And how we all got really into hiking? And remember how our kids gathered around the TV or computer to draw with author Mo Willems for Lunch Doodles? “You might be isolated, but you’re not alone,” he told young fans. “You are an art maker. Let’s make some together.” Truly, one of my favorite pandemic innovations. Now, Romper can exclusively announce that Willems is back with a new YouTube series titled Snack Doodles, premiering on Saturday, March 16, the fourth anniversary of the first episode of Lunch Doodles. We also happen to have a sneak peek!

In Snack Doodles, the award-winning author of the Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knufflebunny series, among many, many other titles, will take kids through all the letters of the alphabet and numbers 1 through 31 (plus 100, for good measure) to inspire kids’ imaginations and show that you can make art anywhere and with anything.

In Romper’s exclusive first look, just watch what Willems (and your kiddos) can accomplish with the letter A!

Inspired! And is it ever too early to teach your kids about abibliophobia? I don’t think so.

Doodling is more than just mindless scribbles for Willems; it’s an important part of his personal and family culture. It’s also something he’s always done around meals. Back in 2022, he told Romper that every night at dinner, when his son Trix was younger, he and his wife Cher Willems would put butcher block paper on the table and have crayons at the ready. “We’d draw and doodle and discuss our feelings through our drawings,” he said. In fact, it was during one of these dinnertime art sessions that Willems sketched out what would become Elephant (aka Gerald) from his Elephant & Piggie series.

Willems also invites dinner guests to doodle, which he says made for longer, more joyful dinner parties. “Having guests who were consistent would be interesting because you could see how [their drawings] changed ... all our neighbors, [children’s authors] Tony DiTerlizzi and Scott Fischer and Eric Carle, who are incredible artists, made incredible pieces of art. But sometimes you would have someone who you did not think was artistically inclined, and their drawings would be remarkable.”

It just goes to show that a little doodle can make a big difference and that art is for everyone. So go ahead and grab some paper and markers for yourself. It’s a great way to bond with your child and who knows what you’ll be inspired to create.

Lunch Doodles premieres on the Mo Willems Workshop YouTube channel on Saturday, March 16. New episodes — 58 total — will be released every Saturday.