The Pidgeon Needs a Bath! By Mo Willems

 

The Pigeon Needs a Bath!  By Mo Willems

         Willems, M. (2014). The pigeon needs a bath! (M. Willems, Illustrator) Walker Books.  ISBN 9781423190875

        In The Pigeon Needs a Bath! The reader follows the very stubborn Pigeon, who insists that despite being visibly covered in dirt and smelly (PU!), he REALLY doesn't need a bath!  Read along to find out if the Pigeon gets his truly well-needed bath.

        Any book by Mo Willems is a fun, engaging, and quick read and The Pigeon Needs a Bath! is no exception.  The text in the story is written in a large, easy-to-read font, so no matter whether the reader is reading alone or following along with someone else, there is no doubt about where they are in the story.  The story itself is very minimal when it comes to characters and the main plot line, the characters being limited to the Pigeon, the caretaker in the beginning, and some insects, while the majority of the plot follows the Pigeon's attempts to convince the reader that he, in fact, does not need a bath.  Despite the simple plot and the small cast of characters, the book is still very engaging for the reader, and the fourth wall is broken as the reader is addressed when the Pigeon addresses the reader and asks, "YEAH!  When was the last time YOU had a bath?!"  The book was captivating enough that both my mom and I (who was listening in as I read the book) found ourselves laughing at the pigeons' antics.  

Mo Willems does a great job at portraying the Pigeon as a very opinionated and sassy character.  The fact that the Pigeon is a pigeon does not alter the storyline at all; rather, it adds to the charm of the book.  Mo Willems illustrated the Pigeon as having a very wide range of human emotions, just as a small child might when their parents tell them it's time for a bath.  One thing I did note about the illustrations was that the book does have a more muted tone, where the colors are not very bright or eye-catching, though I have a feeling that that was purposeful to illustrate just how "dirty" the Pigeon was!  Overall, the story was a quick yet enjoyable read, and readers of all ages will enjoy reading more about the Pigeon and his antics with the Pigeon series.

Readers of this title will like the other titles in the Pigeon series, along with Knuffle Bunny also by Mo Willems.  An activity that can go along with this title is cutting and then laminating images of the Pigeon.  The reader of the book can then "dirty" the Pigeon using Expo markers to represent the Pigeon needing a bath.  Once the part where the Pigeon is in the bath, a bubble solution can be made (with soap and water), and a sponge can be brought out to be used with the bubble solution, and the reader can "bathe" their Pigeon!   Once the title is finished, the reader and an adult can have a conversation about hygiene and why it is important to make good choices about keeping ourselves clean and tidy, just like the choice the Pigeon made at the end of the book.

What Readers Have to Say:

Thom Barthelmess from Booklist Online notes that "Pigeon's many followers will be plenty happy with this latest offering, while parents of reluctant bathers will welcome its surreptitious endorsement"  (Barthelmess. 2014).

Awards

•  2015 Notable Children's Books

Citations

"ALSC names 2015 Notable Children's Books", American Library Association, March 3, 2015.

http://www.ala.org/news/press-releases/2015/03/alsc-names-2015-notable-childrens-books (Accessed February 5, 2024)

Document ID: a9a8ddfc-32bc-6754-15f5-cf98006fe44b

Barthelmess, T. (2014, May 9). Pigeon needs a bath, by Mo Willems. Pigeon Needs a Bath, by Mo Willems. https://www.booklistonline.com/The-Pigeon-Needs-a-Bath-Mo-Willems/pid=6708995