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You guys all know The Pigeon, right? Well, he needs a little convincing to take a bath.
In this latest title from beloved children’s author Mo Willems, The Pigeon has gotten super stinky and refuses to take a bath. After all, he just took one last month! To celebrate the launch of “The Pigeon Needs A Bath,” my son Levi & I hosted a fun Pigeon-themed party complete with decorations courtesy of Disney-Hyperion.
It was fun to watch the older kids recognize The Pigeon from books at their school. They were so excited to see the new book, two of the girls immediately offered to take turns reading it out loud. As the girls read the story and showed us the pictures, the younger kids chimed in with their thoughts. “Yeah, he looks really dirty!” “He needs soap!” and the parents nodded along – I think we’ve all been there with toddlers and preschoolers that refuse to get in the tub and try to negotiate to stay out of the bathroom.
After reading The Pigeon Needs A Bath, the kids were ready to dive into some easy activities. We talked about ways we could get The Pigeon (or his MN bird friends) to visit us, such as putting out a bird bath or bird feeder. I had found some great hummingbird feeders at Walmart, along with hummingbird nectar. We mixed up a huge batch and let the kids use a turkey baster to fill them.
Of course, we couldn’t have The Pigeon Party without making a classic pine cone bird feeder. The kids gathered pinecones from the front yard and smeared them with peanut butter. Next they rolled them in bird seed and cut ribbon so they could tie their feeders to a tree when they got home.
The highlight of The Pigeon Party for the kids, besides the book, of course, was playing Dirty, Dirty, Bath. Think Duck, Duck, Goose, but customized for the Mo Willems book. They had a blast chasing each other around the living room trying to avoid taking a bath just like The Pigeon did in the story.
The Pigeon Needs A Bath is available at bookstores nationwide, along with all of the other great Mo Willems titles. And just in case you didn’t already know, The Pigeon tweets, too, so be sure to follow him on Twitter.
About The Author
Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded a Caldecott Honor on three occasions (for Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, and Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity). Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! was also an inaugural inductee into the Indies Choice Picture Book Hall of Fame. And his celebrated Elephant & Piggie early-reader series has been awarded the Theodor Seuss Geisel Medal on two occasions (forThere Is a Bird on Your Head! and Are You Ready to Play Outside?) as well as three Honors (for We Are in a Book!, I Broke My Trunk!, and Let’s Go for a Drive!). Other favorites include Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed and City Dog, Country Frog, illustrated by Jon J Muth. Mo lives in Massachusetts with his family.
Jen Jamar is the Minneapolis writer & professional loudmouth behind Life With Levi, a site with a humorous take on balancing life as a working mom. She is a natural community builder and uses social media to create powerful engagement between her readers and brands that can help make their lives easier. At least, that’s how she prefers to explain her Facebook and Twitter addiction.
When she’s not at the office, you can usually find her building forts with the kids, starting pillow fights, or planning her next family adventure.
