How to Be Famous

K-Gr 2—Readers are introduced to a pigeon and her "famous" family. Her uncle pigeon is "famous for his bravery in the third cat war, where he lost his foot." A cousin pigeon is "famous for helping old people finish their bread." The narrator herself is a famous model. Readers realize that the narrator's "modeling" career involves posing atop animals at the zoo while visitors take photographs. Based on the zoo animals' facial expressions, none of them seem to appreciate the entirely oblivious pigeon. She also "eats at the table" (helps herself to human food at the picnic tables) and "gives her autograph" (poops on the human visitors). Every page of this book is hilarious. The juxtaposition between the pigeon's beliefs about her situation and the illustrated reality is brilliant. Children will giggle and point out all of the carefully planted details in the earth-tone illustrations. At the very end of the book, however, the narrator distractedly walks into a lion's mouth. It is entirely dark inside, nothing happens when the pigeon shouts, "Lights!" and she is quite bored. The book ends there.