DK+ and The LEGO Group are continuing the momentum for their reimagined LEGO Fiction list with Can the Pigeon Build a Bus? by multiple award-winning bestselling author Mo Willems.
The new title comes hot on the heels of the launch of the first LEGO Fiction books, as announced by DK+ at last year’s Frankfurt Book Fair.
Combined, the first print across the whole LEGO Fiction range, led by Jeffrey Brown’s Nikolas Nurdblok and the Lost Brick, and including new illustrated middle-grade and early chapter books, is in excess of one million copies.
Can the Pigeon Build a Bus? will see Mo Willems’ much-loved creation The Pigeon find LEGO bits and pieces with hilarious consequences. The interactive storybook will invite children to get creative with the LEGO elements that come with the book by building an exclusive LEGO 3-in-1 model connected to the story.
Mo (pictured) is the author and artist behind more than 70 children’s books – over 50 of them New York Times bestselling titles – in 26 language translations.
“I love playing with LEGO bricks as much as I love playing with my characters,” commented Mo. “So, it’s exciting for me to discover what clicks when The Pigeon and The Duckling discover LEGO bricks for the first time. I hope you enjoy reading and playing this adventure with DK Books and LEGO bricks as much as I enjoyed making it.”
2027 will bring a host of developments for the LEGO Fiction books. Nikolas Nurdblok will return next October with LEGO Nikolas Nurdblok and the Lost Brick 2 (Working Title), which sees the titular hero return for another epic quest. The book sees Nik determined to be the first to track down a valuable set of building instructions – but a disappearance leads to the adventure taking an unexpected turn.
DK’s middle-grade LEGO fiction series is also set to return, with sequels to the world-first chapter-book-with-bricks format LEGO NINJAGO Quill of Destiny, The Eagle of Knowledge and LEGO Friends Pet Rescuers Puppy Pandemonium coming next autumn, alongside further LEGO CITY and LEGO NINJAGO early chapter books coming throughout the year.
A new series of LEGO 5 – Minute Stories books are also set to hit bookshelves from next summer.
Speaking of the growing LEGO Fiction list, Mark Searle, md at DK+ said: “The reaction to the growth in our partnership with LEGO Publishing this year has been nothing short of phenomenal. Nothing shows our ambition for the LEGO Fiction list better than working with Mo Willems – one of the world’s most iconic and loved authors.”
Bartek Jelonek, head of global publishing at The LEGO Group, added: “We are thrilled to be expanding our fiction programme with DK, which has been met with a fantastic reception. We look forward to continued adventures of Nikolas Nurdblok, and we welcome Mo Willems – author extraordinaire – and his iconic characters to the world of LEGO play and creativity.”
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