My Pillow Keeps Moving!

A guy walks into a pillow store, and from there, Gehl and Weyant’s story becomes increasingly silly and delightful. The gentleman—a mustachioed, bespectacled, mild-mannered fellow who lives alone—believes he is making three perfectly normal purchases: a pillow, a footstool, and a jacket. In each case, readers can see that the purchase is actually a clever stray dog looking for a warm home. When the man’s purchases start acting strangely (the pillow moves, the footstool howls, the jacket burps and farts), he tries to return them to an unctuous, unyielding salesman, who insists that the items meet all the necessary criteria (“Is your pillow fluffy?” he asks. “Then your pillow is not broken, sir”). The all-dialogue text and classic New Yorker–style cartooning (Weyant is a regular contributor to the magazine) prove how powerfully funny repetition can be. Adult readers may be reminded of Monty Python’s “Dead Parrot” sketch, although in this case, the critter is very much alive and everyone comes away happy. Ages 4–8. [em]Author’s agent: Erzsi Deak, Hen & Ink. Illustrator’s agent: Holly McGhee, Pippin Properties. (Jan.) [/em]