Don't+Let+the+Pigeon+Stay+Up+Late!

Written and Illustrated by: Mo Willems **Bibliographical Data: ** **Author**: Mo Willems **Illustrator:** Mo Willems **Publisher:** New York: Hyperion Books for Children, (2006) **Language:** English **Pages**: 40 **Age range**: 2-6 years old **ISBN:** 0786837462
 * Book name: **// “Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!" //

Mo Willems in an American author, illustrator, and animator. Born on February 11, 1968, Willems began his life in New Orleans, Louisiana. An interesting fact about the award winning author is that he did not only receive awards for his infamous character series's, such as // Knuffle Bunny, The Pigeon Books, Elephant and Piggie, and Cat the Cat // //,// but he also received six Emmy Awards as a writer and animator of "Sesame Street." His success in literature lives on as his books are being developed into short films, audio books, and translated in different languages worldwide. Willems currently resides in North Hampton, Massachusetts, with his wife and daughter.
 * Author Bibliography: **

Like all books in the Pigeon Books series, the Pigeon desires to do something he knows he cannot do, but will do anything in his power to persuade the reader to give in to his wishes! Only in this book, the Pigeon wants to stay up late! At first, the Pigeon will be polite and kindly ask to stay up late. Eventually, he lists all the reasons for why you should let him stay up late, even though we all know we should not let the pigeon stay up past his bed time! Lastly, he throws a temper tantrum because he is not getting his way. // Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! // provides young readers with the opportunity to make a smart, responsible choice. Even though it is annoying to have a bedtime, we all know it is what's best to keep our bodies and minds healthy! Will YOU let the Pigeon stay up late?
 * Summary of the Book: **

// Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! // is a multi-award-winning picture book whose simplistic and humorous style make reading fun for early readers. This book is the perfect bedtime story to help children understand the importance of going to bed early in an engaging, comedic manner.
 * Book Review: **

One prevailing literary element that was executed beautifully in //Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!// is illustration. The illustrations within this picture book bring the story and text to life and thus, make the reading comprehensible for beginning readers. In this book, Willems uses a minimalist approach, in that, the use of illustration and text are simple in presentation. For example, each page includes approximately four illustrations of the pigeon. Each illustration is representative of the pigeon explaining reasons to the audience as to why he feels he should stay up late. His reasons are short and simple statements, allowing room for expressive interpretations of the tone of the text during read-alouds. The illustrations, however, depict the Pigeon in a specific way. This gives hint to how the Pigeon may be behaving or speaking. Therefore, the illustrations are utterly important in this book because without them, the text seemingly cannot be brought to life. For example, when the pigeon says, "Pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeease!", the corresponding drawing shows him holding his wings in front of him in a prayer position as he his kneeling down on both knees. From this, readers can conclude the pigeon is trying to persuade the readers by downright begging to stay up late. The presentation of this element is especially appealing to children because through the illustrations, the pigeon is acting in a bunch of different way in an attempt to persuade the audience to say yes, even though it is clear that the pigeon should not be staying up late if he is to be fully rested the following day!
 * Analysis of a Literary Element: **


 * Related Links: **
 * https://sites.google.com/site/mowillemsauthorguide/home
 * https://sites.google.com/site/mowillemsauthorguide/books-by-the-author