Willy Claflin
Willy Claflin is the author of four award winning LittleFolk picture books: The Uglified Ducky, Rapunzel & The Seven Dwarfs, The Bully Goat Grim, and The Little Moose Who Couldn't Go To Sleep. Willy’s retelling of original and classic traditional stories incorporates a unique wacky fairy tale persona with his trusted sidekick, Maynard Moose. Willy insists that Maynard is the actual author of these stories and that he, Willy, is merely the Moose-to-English translator of these whimsical tales. All of Willy’s Maynard Moose picture books include a CD with a field recording of Maynard narrating the story and a Moose-to-English dictionary for those of us not fluent in “Moose-speak”.
Willy grew up in New Hampshire and spent his introverted childhood daydreaming and wandering through the woods, listening to his father’s bedtime stories and worrying about the wolf under his bed. As a student at Harvard University, he studied American and French Literature while spending his free time performing music and comedy in the lively Boston folk music scene. After graduation, he turned his attention to classroom teaching and found that he had a gift for engaging his students with creative curriculum and developed his major puppet characters: Maynard Moose, Boring Beaver, Socklops, and Gorf. When he decided to commit to performing and touring full-time, he brought a wealth of stories and puppet monologues to his repertoire along with a deep appreciation of how to connect with kids of all ages.
Today Willy is a popular storyteller who crisscrosses the country performing at special events and in schools. As an author, his four Maynard Moose picture books have won ten awards and received critical praise. He is a favorite performer at the annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN, at regional festivals and in classrooms across the land. Willy is also a member of the prestigious National Storytelling Networks' Circle of Excellence and he often records and performs traditional ballads and blues with his son, Brian Claflin. Currently, when he isn’t touring, Willy lives in San Francisco with his wife and business partner, Jacqueline Darrigrand.
Willy is also a favorite performer at the annual National Storytelling Festival in Jonesborough, TN, at regional festivals and in classrooms across the land. Willy is a member of the prestigious National Storytelling Networks' Circle of Excellence and he often records and performs traditional ballads and blues with his son, Brian Claflin. Willy lives in San Francisco with his wife and business partner, Jacqueline Darrigrand.
Learn more at willyclaflin.com