This is an unflinching and hilarious look at a child's potential for mischief. In a plain palette, with childishly elemental line drawings, Willems has captured the essence of unreasonableness in the very young.
When Pigeon finds a delicious hot dog, he can't wait to devour it. But then along comes a sly duckling who wants a bite. Who will be the more clever bird?
Needing to brush his teeth, a bus driver asks the reader to make sure that the pigeon goes to bed on time--but the bird has many excuses about why it should stay awake.