Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! (review)

Willems' irascible, steely-eyed pigeon's got the blues again—literally as well as figuratively this time, as Willems switches to a nighttime palette of progressively darker pastels that eventually gray into sleepy indigoes as the pigeon fights the inevitable onset of sleep. Lots of intertextual play is at work here, as a pajama-clad adult (could be the bus driver?) asks readers to keep the pigeon from staying up too late, the pigeon himself begins his sleep-delaying tactics by suggesting a hot-dog party, and Knuffle Bunny makes a cameo appearance. The pigeon lets fly with all the cajoling, manipulative excuses you can think of, but he finds himself plagued by unexpected yawns until he finally poops out, only to dream of endless hot dogs. The by-now-familiar format works especially well to freshen this particular topic, and amazingly, the pigeon's repertoire of expression continues to expand as he adds coy (see "Tell me about your day . . . ") and abashment ("I was stretching") to his usual range of emotion. Willems' craftsmanship is once again an exemplary study in the way simple shapes, uncluttered design, and the thoughtful use of color, married with a firm grasp of both children's behavior and their multiple levels of understanding that behavior, can result in a perfect jewel of composition. This is just right for exercising the funny bone before bed.