"The Pigeon Needs a Bath" by Mo Willems

  Bibliography

·         Willems, Mo. (2014). The Pigeon Needs aBath. New York, NY: Hyperion Books. ISBN 978-1-4231-90875 (watch it here)

  Summary

·         This is the story of a very dirty pigeon who does not want to take a bath. The pigeon will not admit that he has gotten quite dirty and refuses the bath offered to him by his human.

 Analysis

·         Willems uses a very simple, friendly style to illustrate the pigeon and his human, but the emphasis is clearly on the bird throughout the story. The colors he chooses to illustrate with are fairly neutral, but there are pops of color that attract the eye of the young reader without overwhelming it.  The subtle humor throughout this book is just right for a young child to follow along and make predictions, so it is great for developing early inferencing skills. 

This particular book really strikes upon a hot topic among young children: bath time. Many children, (mine included), are a little hesitant to take that big plunge sometimes, even though we remind them how fun baths can be! This book does a great job of illustrating that issue without have a parent actually bathe a child. The non-human character allows the child the impression that he is just a silly pigeon to not want to take a bath and suddenly the child is the parent. The story continues on to show the pigeon enjoying his bath time, much like his young human counterparts. If you are looking for a way to show your child that bath time is a good thing, this book does a great job of illustrating that to children indirectly. To further invest your child in this and other books by Mo Willems, you can follow the pigeon on Twitter!

  Awards

·      Goodreads Choice Awards, Best Picture Books

·      Children’s Choice Book Awards, 2015