Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!

Mo Willems's willful pigeon is back, and this time listeners are asked to make sure he doesn't stay up late. A litany of pigeonly protestations will sound familiar to those with their own sleep-resisting offspring: "I'm not tired"; "I wasn't yawning, I was just stretching"; "we never get to talk anymore"; "tell me about your day . . ." This timeless subject will amuse listeners, and Mo Willems's dramatization of the pigeon trying ever so hard to avoid going to bed is comic and delightful. As the increasingly tired pigeon launches each new argument against bedtime, different solo instruments provide droll-sounding musical commentaries, which are funny in their own right. This production will inspire contented bedtime smiles from parents and children alike. J.C.G. (c) AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

February 20, 2006
Double agent that he is, Willems reveals proven bedtime-delaying strategies to children and child-wranglers alike. As in his Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
, a fatherly figure cheerfully delivers the title instructions and tiptoes offstage, leaving readers to ponder their baby-sitting assignment. The tantrum-prone Pigeon then marches into the otherwise empty frame, announcing, "First of all, I'm not even tired!" He's in the mood for an all-you-can-eat "hot dog party"—referencing The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
—and, in another droll product placement, enlists a greenish Knuffle Bunny doll as a tool for persuasion ("My bunny wants to stay up, too!"). From the get-go, the feathered hero is punchy, with heavy gray eyelids, but soon charcoaly half-circles appear under his eyes, and he is overcome by a gargantuan yawning fit that fills an entire spread ("OK, that was not
a yawn! I was stretching"). Willems uses voice bubbles and emphatic lettering to suggest the Pigeon's tone of voice, and his solid-color backgrounds progressively dim from soft pink to lavender to a relaxing gray-blue and warm violet, enhancing the growing sense of drowsiness. At last, the hyperactive Pigeon succumbs to slumber, but sleep-resistant and savvy readers will likely plead to read this again. Ages 2-6.