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Parents' Guide to

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!

By Patricia Tauzer, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 2+

The perfect go-to-bed book for stalling kids.

Book Mo Willems Picture Book 2006
Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! Poster Image

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What you will—and won't—find in this book.

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What's the Story?

On the very first page of DON'T LET THE PIGEON STAY UP LATE! the same bus driver from the earlier Pigeon books again asks the child reader to be in charge. This time the request is to get the pigeon to bed while the driver brushes his teeth. From then on, even as the pigeon yawns and yawns some more, the sleepy bird tries one diversion after another to avoid his bedtime. Everything works out in the end and the reader is congratulated on a job well done.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say Not yet rated
Kids say (3 ):

Short but funny, Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! is the perfect go-to-bed book, especially for the reluctant sleepy kid. The simple drawings of a big-eyed, two-dimensional pigeon, painted in pastel blue and outlined with strong black lines, will be familiar to anyone who has read Mo Willems' previous Pigeon books. With an easy shift of the eye, lift of a wing, turn of the beak, or droop of the neck and eye-lid, the cartoon pigeon, coupled with large-print words and plenty of exclamation points, gets his story across with an easy humor that kids will enjoy. He is lovable, exasperating, and so kid-like.

Mo Willems knows kids. Not only has he won Emmy awards as a writer and animator for Sesame Street, but he also won Caldecott Honors for Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! and Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the different tactics the pigeon uses to put off his bedtime in Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! Do any of them sound familiar?

  • The pigeon seems tired, so why do you think the he doesn't want to go to bed?

  • What's your favorite bedtime routine?

Book Details

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