The Pigeon Wants a Puppy by Mo Willems (Walker Books)

I'm slightly gobsmacked to discover that we have NOT reviewed any of Mo Willem's "Pigeon" books before on the blog (quick check, nope, none there, not even tucked down the back of the ReadItDaddy sofa!) so let's rectify that right away with a real rip-snorter from the series.

For those of you who are unfamiliar with The Pigeon, he's a chatty (and some might even suggest slightly annoying) feathery chap who, once he sets his mind on something, absolutely will not stop until he does it - often with hilarious consequences.

This time Pigeon wants a puppy. A cute adorable puppy. Watered three times a day, given plenty of soil and sunshine, the perfect pet.

Of course, pigeons are usually fairly small (and a bit fragile). Puppies (even dinky ones) are definitely not, so when Pigeon finally achieves his aim, was a puppy all he'd imagined it would be after all?

Pigeon is a great character, as daft and annoying as the real thing (believe me, we have a real love-hate relationship with pigeons at ReadItDaddy towers - anyone who has been woken up at 4.30 AM on a summer's morning by a noise that sounds a bit like "Do DOOO Doo, DO DO!" on a loop for 14 hours straight will find it difficult to love the little blighters either) and in some ways it's always great to see his lofty aspirations go awry. Mo Willems has a gift for clean images suffused with sparse text but with the weighty hammer blow of comic perfection delivered in all the right places. You'll go coo-coo for Pigeon!

Charlotte's best bit: What Pigeon wants AFTER the puppy. Eek!

Daddy's Favourite bit: Like all the best children's books, the pigeon books are simple, straightforward, uncomplicated but hilariously and deliriously funny.