Ellen's Book Nook #2 The Pigeon Needs A Bath by Mo Willems

The pigeon has been a part of our lives for some time now. He is in fact my daughters favourite choice for bedtime. It all started when we picked up a strange book in our local Waterstone's with a funny title"Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus". When bedtime came that night Ellen cuddled up under her She-rah bedcovers with her faithful bunny Snuggles happily waiting for her daddy to read that night's bedtime story. I have never heard my daughter laugh and interact so much with a picture book or any book for that matter. Our usual book was The Gruffalo or the hungry caterpillar and while she clearly loved both of those books and would smile and laugh occasionally at a funny part or join in on the bits she knew, nothing has ever made her react or light up the way she does with the pigeon.

The Pigeon Books are written and illustrated by the marvellous Mo Willems. This Pigeon is hilarious, stubborn, he try's to convince you into letting him get his own way, he even try's to bribe you and  throws a tantrum occasionally. All while you tell him "NO".

There is a video on You Tube of Don't Let The Pigeon drive the bus. I have posted it at the bottom of this blog post. However, Ellen does not like it. She doesn't like his American accent. Don't be offended though Mo if you by some strange turn of events find yourself reading this. She doesn't like to hear it in my voice either. Only Daddy's voice will do. It's their thing. I think in Ellen's eyes Daddy is the Pigeon.

The books has become specail to them. So much so that my husband recently got a tattoo of the pigeon with Knuffle bunny tucked under his wing. Knuffle bunny is another of Mo's creations and looks an awful lot like our very own Snuggles which is a lovely coincidence. Ellen is convinced that Knuffle and Snuggles are somehow related.

Anyway here's over to you kid. This is what Ellen had to say about The Pigeon Needs A Bath by Mo Willems:

"The Pigeon Books are fun. You get to say No! to him. Which is so much fun. He's really funny. He's also very naughty and a bit cheeky and I love him. My Daddy is the best at reading The Pigeon books. He does the best voices. There is a video of Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus but I prefer the way Daddy does it. The Pigeon Needs A Bath is really funny too. He's being very stubborn and won't take a bath. He keeps trying to get out of it but you just keep telling him No!. In the end he gets in the Bath and loves it so much that he doesn't want it to end. He's so funny like that."- Ellen

Ellen is now 9 but still enjoys reading and picking up the latest 
pigeon book. I think that will give you some idea of how important these books are to her.

My Husband even tattooed The Pigeon and Knuffle bunny onto himself because it means so much to himself and Ellen and has become such a huge part of thier relationship.

There are lots of Pigeon Books to enjoy - Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus, Don't Let The Pigeon Stay Up Late, The Pigeon Finds A Hot Dog, The Pigeon Wants A Puppy, The Pigeon Has Feeling's To. There is even a Pigeon Activity Book and A Pigeon App.

Check out Mo Willems Website it's great http://www.mowillems.com

Here is a video of Don't Let The Pigeon Drive The Bus 

We hope you enjoy these books as much as we have.

http://www.mowillems.com