Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

by Mo Willems

Book Overview

When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place-a pigeon! But you've never met one like this before. As he pleads, wheedles, and begs his way... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 078681988X
• Release Date: January 2003
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 40 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 0.5" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Children's Book

This is a Children's Book I read to my twin boys. I have read this book many times to my boys. This is a cute and fun book to read to your kids. The pictures are everything. I love every time I read this book my boys are still so excited to read it. Great Children's Book.

My 4 1/2 year old LOVES this book!

My 4 1/2 year old brought this book home for library day at school and she loves it! It's as much fun for me to read it to her and she thinks the pigeon is silly! I will be ordering the whole series for her for Christmas!

Don't Bother!

Pointless blather, from a Seseme Street guy. Poorly Written and Too Simplistic!

An amusing way to improve anyone's social skills

This ridiculous book is the best way I know to teach a child that sometimes it's important to say no, over and over and over again. Teaching a kid how to say no, and how to recognize when somebody else is manipulating you to try and get you to say yes, is one of the most valuable social lessons possible for anyone. (This book strikes me as a better way to prevent sexual molestation and drug abuse than any program I've ever seen put forward by child advocate groups.) Great for older children as well as preschoolers, not to mention adults. Don't miss it.

One of the funniest picture books you'll ever peruse

Because this book won a 2003 Caldecott Honor, you're probably going to hear a lot of people complaining about it. "Oh the art isn't beautiful". "Oh my four-year-old child could've drawn it". "Oh it isn't Caldecott-worthy" (whatever that may mean). The fact of the matter is, I was a little shocked too. This book won a Caldecott honor? The one where an amusing pigeon tries every bit of persuasion he can think of to wheedle himself into the driving seat of a bus? Now I've loved this book since it was first published. When I first read it I laughed out loud. Quick! Recite the children's books you love that make you laugh out loud! Not so easy to think of, are they? So I've returned to this little treasure in the hopes of discovering why that Caldecott nominating committee loved this book as much as my pretty self. Could it have been the artwork? Deceptively simple is the best way to describe its style. The pigeon isn't exactly a Michaelangelo. He's drawn with thick black lines, shaded in with blue and yellow. But has a Michaelangelo ever really amused you? Look a little closer at this pigeon and you realize the book's genius. His oversized eyeballs exquisitely display every emotion possible. From sweet and innocent to consumed with an all-encompassing rage. The pages wherein the pigeon completely freaks out and screams at the top of his lungs, "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!" is the temper tantrum of a two-year-old rendered into an aviary form. But do kids like this book? Well, ladies and gentlemen, the answer is yes. In fact, clever readers let the kids hearing this tale say, "NO!" every time the pigeon tries a new tactic. When the pigeon says, "Please", the kids say no. When the pigeon says, "I tell you what: I'll just steer", the kids say no. When the pigeon says, "Hey, I've got an idea. Let's play `Drive the Bus'. I'll go first", the kids say no. And when Mr. Pigeon collapses in a fury, the kids do not relent. Finally, they have been placed in the position of their parents. They get to tell someone exactly what he cannot do. And they love it.In the end, it's hilarious. Who can resist this foul when he pulls every trick out of his feathery bag? From, "How `bout I give you five bucks", to a mock-innocent wide-eyed, "I have dreams you know!". In the end, the pigeon goes on to bigger and better dreams (complete with CB radio) and the children reading the story know they've participated in the happy ending. Joy all around. Is this book deserving of a Caldecott Honor? No ladies and gentlemen. It is deserving of a Caldecott MEDAL. But like the pigeon's, this is just a dream.

Simply Hilarious!

Truly a masterpiece! After many readings, this story still makes me laugh out loud. With only a few simple lines and a minimal amount of dialouge, Mo Willems has created a memorable character in this coniving pigeon who will do anything to drive a bus.The local librarian told me that this book was a big hit at story hour, with the children actively telling the pigeon "No! You can't drive the bus!" Maybe I still have the mind set of a preschooler, because I found it just as entertaining, so much so that my best friend gave it to me for my 43rd birthday. In my opinion, it's one of the best children's books of the year.True story.

review from THE BULLETIN OF THE CENTER FOR CHILDREN?S BOOKS

Willems, writer and animator of Sesame Street fame, makes his picture-book debut with an irresistible bit of fowl play. Though this enterprising blue pigeon dreams of driving a city bus, even before the book starts the bus drive has asked the book's audience not to let the pigeon take the wheel. The pigeon pleads, bargains, and otherwise attempts to trick and cajole the viewer into granting his humble wish to drive the bust (after all, his "cousin Herb drives a bus almost every day. True story"). As a readalone or a readaloud, this increasingly desperate one-sided conversation assumes the cooperative interaction of its audience; even the youngest auditor can join the fun because the answer is always, say it loud, say it often, "NO!" The frustrated fowl's anguish takes center stage in the streamlined yet remarkably articulate illustrations; tidy charcoal outlines that reveal the sure hand of a seasoned animator are set against plain creamy backgrounds of various muted shades. The simplicity of the illustrations and the pigeon's large, expressive eye fix the view in a compellingly dynamic and focused relationship. By putting the child in the deliciously empowering position of being the one to say no to the outrageous request of the pigeon, this avian misadventure begs to be read again and again.