Hidden Pigeon Company Expands Partnership with Union Square & Co.
Award-Winning Author/Illustrator Mo Willems’ Classic Characters Will Feature in New Range of Licensed Books, Gifts, and Stationery
Ten-Year Deal Significantly Expands Reach of Mo Willems’ Character IP with New Book Formats
Los Angeles, CA (March 26, 2025) — Hidden Pigeon Company (HPC), the company co-founded by #1 New York Times bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems, is extending its partnership with Union Square & Co.—an imprint of Grand Central Publishing, a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.—to develop a range of licensed books featuring Willems’ most popular and endearing characters, including The Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny, for the children’s book imprint Union Square Kids. Under the new 10-year agreement, Union Square Kids will introduce a wide range of color and activity books, storybooks, readers, board books, workbooks, novelty formats, and more.
The newly expanded partnership between Hidden Pigeon Company and Union Square & Co. also encompasses a range of innovative gift and stationery products from Knock Knock Kids, which offers child-friendly formats from gift and stationery brand Knock Knock, an imprint of Union Square & Co. Among the upcoming offerings are Pigeon- and Elephant & Piggie-themed versions of Knock Knock’s top-selling Fill-in-the-Love journals in addition to notebooks, activity pads, paper placemats, and other gift items featuring Willems’ characters.
“Union Square Kids is dedicated to engaging and entertaining young readers, which is also at the heart of what we do at Hidden Pigeon Company,” said Karen K. Miller, President & CEO, HPC. “We are so excited to continue working closely with the talented team at Union Square to expand the reach and impact of Mo Willems’ characters while delivering many more opportunities for children to stretch their imaginations and express their creativity.”
“Mo Willems’ characters and books have captivated and inspired millions of children around the world,” said Emily Thomas Meehan, Senior Vice President and Publisher, Union Square & Co. “We are delighted to further our successful collaboration with Mo and Hidden Pigeon Company and introduce new ways for kids to experience his beloved characters through a broad range of bestselling formats.”
The new licensing program will include up to 15–20 new titles a year featuring dozens of Mo Willems’ popular characters. The first book produced under the agreement, Don’t Let The Pigeon Color This Book!, launched in October 2024. Additional titles are launching fall 2025, including the early-learning concept board book The Pigeon WON’T Count to 10!
The new titles will be available wherever books are sold, online and at retail nationwide in the U.S., Canada, UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The gift and stationery products will be available in the U.S. and Canada.
In other Mo Willems-related publishing news, on March 4, Union Square Kids released Will the Pigeon Graduate?, the tenth picture book featuring Willems’ best-loved bus-loving character and an instant New York Times bestseller.
About Mo Willems
Mo Willems is all about letting imaginations run wild. He is the beloved artist and author behind #1 New York Times bestselling and Caldecott Honors–awarded picture books like Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and the Knuffle Bunny series. Willems received an Eisner award for The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!, and his celebrated Elephant & Piggie early reader series has received two Theodor Seuss Geisel Awards and five Geisel Honors. Willems’ debut title Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame. He has published more than 70 children’s books—more than 50 of them New York Times bestselling titles—with 26+ foreign language translations. In addition to his Caldecott Honors, Willems garnered six Emmy Awards for his writing on “Sesame Street,” where he began his remarkable career. Willems has also created three television specials, six animated series, seven musical adaptations, five licensed theater productions, and three touring exhibits.
Willems loves playing in new sandboxes. He regularly collaborates with other globally renowned artists and organizations to create bright and innovative new works in the worlds of classical music, opera, comedy concerts, dance, painting, and digital content. Willems’ art has been exhibited around the world, including in major solo retrospectives at the High Museum of Art in Atlanta and The New York Historical in NYC. Over the last decade, he has become the most produced playwright of Theatre for Young Audiences in the US, having written or co-written four musicals based on his books. In 2023, Willems co-founded Hidden Pigeon Company to extend the reach of his beloved characters and stories across multiple platforms. Mo Willems is a former child.
About Union Square & Co.
Union Square & Co. is a talent-driven publisher whose mission is to promote excellence in contemporary publishing and to honor the vision of our creators by providing best-in-class production, editorial, and design choices. Headquartered in New York City, Union Square & Co., LLC, is a subsidiary of Sterling Publishing Co., Inc., and includes the adult imprints Union Square & Co., Puzzlewright Press and Sterling Ethos; the children’s imprints Union Square Kids and Boxer Books; and the gift and stationery imprints Knock Knock, Em & Friends, Knock Knock Kids, and Union Square Gift. In November 2024, Union Square & Co. was acquired by Hachette Book Group, Inc. as part of Grand Central Publishing.
About Hidden Pigeon Company
Hidden Pigeon Company (HPC) is an exciting new multiplatform kids and family content company founded in early 2023 by celebrated children’s book author Mo Willems along with Stampede Ventures and RedBird Capital Partners. It was formed with the goal of expanding the already-impressive reach and impact of Willems’s bestselling catalog of children’s books and intellectual property across all entertainment platforms—from television, film, and digital to live events, location-based experiences, licensing & merchandising, publishing, and more. Hidden Pigeon Company takes its name from Willems’ immensely popular character, The Pigeon, from Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!, as kids and “former kids” (as Mo likes to say)—delight in finding The Pigeon hidden somewhere in all his books. HPC’s Mo Willems Workshop YouTube Channel features fresh content based on Willems’ characters and brands, including The Pigeon, Elephant & Piggie, and Knuffle Bunny, to inspire creativity and spark serious silliness.
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Media Contacts:
Grand Communications, Inc. (for Hidden Pigeon Company)
Alison Grand, alison@grandcommunications.com
Laura Liebeck, laura@grandcommunications.com
Union Square & Co. (for Union Square Kids)
Blanca Oliviery, blanca.oliviery@hbgusa.com
Nathan Siegel, nathan.siegel@hbgusa.com