Caught That Pigeon

Yesterday, we got gussied up for a day at the theatre. The family took in "Pigeon Party," a kid-centric hour of well-meaning inanity at the Orange County Performing Arts Center. My daughter giggled, she cheered, she ultimately curled up in daddy's lap and looked kinda' worn out.

The "play" was a montage of three of Mo Willems' children's books starring a lovable crotchety pigeon and was the last U.S. 2010 tour stop for UK's Big Wooden Horse production company. (The center has hosted other book-to-stage performances in its '09/'10 season, including "Stellaluna" and "Strega Nona.")

Tony-worthy, it was not. Two Brits mincing about with threadbare, minimalist props, reciting the books' words and adding none-too-clever original songs. The gist of the popular books is that the pigeon wants to do stuff he's not allowed to do. This meant that, for the whoa!-whoa! price of $18 a ticket, you bought your pre-schooler the privilege of being able to shout "NOOO!" at the top of their lungs, over and over and over again...for an hour. What was I thinking? Once again, Willems is all up in my pockets and, this time, I paid for something I can get (in bulk) for free!

New On the Shelves

Check out these cool new additions (hopefully) to your kids' libraries.

What with "Race You to Bed" joining his previous title, "Monster vs. Bedtime," Bob Shea must be vying for a monopoly on the 6-and-under set's nightly reading roster. Like your kids, this adorable bunny is way too riled up to settle down for sleep, preferring to climb, leap and dive its way into slumber. But after 40 pages of hyper-activity, the bunny finally gives in (hopefully, like your kids). The rhymes are cleverly written and each page has more visual pop than the last. Resulting dreams will surely be cute.

We have a copy of Tao Nyeu's serene, wordless "Wonder Bear." Her new one "Bunny Days," contains mini stories featuring a handful of bunnies who are up to shenanigans and a clever bear who keeps them in check. I peg this as a cross between Margaret Wise Brown and James Kochalka. I'm not really the type to buy kids Easter gifts, but this would be a good pick for just such an occasion.

Mo Willems' Elephant & Piggie series has pretty much launched my daughter into full-fledged literacy. His new "Cat the Cat" books (man, this guy is prolific!) are too simplistic for kids who can sound out words on their own. But for three- and four-year-olds just getting started with reading, the word repetition in these books is a plus.

In Mark Rogalski's picture book, each letter of the alphabet is represented by its own circus bill-style illustration. To be clear, the book is more form than function.

"Belly Flops! Karate Chops! Weasels Pop! The Hippo Hop!"

Yeah...nobody's going to learn anything about the letter H from that right there. This basically strikes me as a travel book — something to hand the kids when you set off on a plane or rode trip to keep them engaged while you take deep breaths.