Module 2: The Pigeon Needs a Bath!

Summary: Pigeon is at it again in this hilarious book by Mo Williams.  This time Pigeon does not think that he is dirty or that he smells but when the flies will not even stay around him he decides that it is time.  Of course then he does not want to get out of the tub.

APA Reference: Williams, M. (2014). The pigeon needs a bath. New York, NY: Hyperion Books for Children.

Impressions: I had never read a Mo Williams book but I now that I have there is no going back.  Pigeon is funny and lovable.  He acts just like a kid would who would not want to take a bath.  I love how the front end sheets show Pigeon playing in mud and the back end sheet shows him playing in the bath.  The other illustrations throughout the book are simply drawn and almost make me think that I could do that. Of course I could never draw something even as simple as Pigeon as well as Mo Williams.  I also like how Pigeon talks to the reader.  It is almost like the reader and pigeon are having a conversation.  Since this Pigeon book we have read several more Mo WIlliams books and they are all awesome.  Mo Williams is a genius with fun entertaining children's books.

Professional Review:WILLEMS, Mo. The Pigeon Needs a Bath! illus. by Mo Willems. 40p. Hyperion/Disney Book Group. 2014. Tr $16.99. ISBN 9781423190875. LC 2013003178.

K-Gr 2 –Persuasive Pigeon is back. He doesn’t feel that he really needs a bath—after all, it’s a “matter of opinion.” “Clean” and “dirty” are “just words, right?” With a polished technique that logically approaches the problem, Pigeon speaks with a child’s voice as he rationalizes his decision while forcefully questioning those who might even suggest that his personal hygiene and the flies buzzing around are not just “coincidental.” The water might be “too hot…not deep enough…too cold…or too wet,” but it only takes a mere 30 tiny frames and a dramatic large-font spread before Pigeon grandly displays the myriad possibilities for a happy bird in the bath. Willems’s dirt-smudged pigeon is at once clever, garrulous, energetic, and just slightly excitable. Through simple flat-line illustrations, this bird’s expressions and attitude are easy to discern. Pigeon fans will not want to miss this book, a “must add” to all libraries, for any reader appreciating the perfect art of persuasion.–Mary Elam, Learning Media Services, Plano ISD, TX

Elam, M. (2014, June 10).  Picture books, easy readers, and early chapter books on parade: Fiction preschool to grade 4. School Library Journal. Retrieved from http://www.slj.com/2014/06/reviews/books/picture-books-easy-readers-and-early-chapter-books-on-parade-fiction-preschool-to-grade-4/

Library Use: This book would be good to include in a lesson about hygiene.  A whole series  about Pigeon could also be done in a library.