Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (Hardcover)

~ (Author) "Hi! I'm the bus driver..." (more)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 2-A brilliantly simple book that is absolutely true to life, as anyone who interacts with an obdurate three-year-old can attest. The bus driver has to leave for a while, and he makes one request of readers: "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus." It's the height of common sense, but the driver clearly knows this determined pigeon and readers do not-yet. "Hey, can I drive the bus?" asks the bird, at first all sweet reason, and then, having clearly been told no by readers, he begins his ever-escalating, increasingly silly bargaining. "I tell you what: I'll just steer," and "I never get to do anything," then "No fair! I bet your mom would let me." In a wonderfully expressive spread, the pigeon finally loses it, and, feathers flying and eyeballs popping, screams "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!" in huge, scratchy, black-and-yellow capital letters. The driver returns, and the pigeon leaves in a funk-until he spies a huge tractor trailer, and dares to dream again. Like David Shannon's No, David (Scholastic, 1998), Pigeon 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. The genius of this book is that the very young will actually recognize themselves in it.
Dona Ratterree, New York City Public Schools
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

From Booklist

PreS. In his winning debut, Willems finds the preschooler in a pigeon: a cajoling, tantrum-throwing, irresistible bird. "I've got to leave for a little while," says a uniformed bus driver as he strolls off the opening pages. "I thought he'd never leave," says the big-eyed pigeon as he marches onto the next spread and begins his campaign to drive the bus. His tactics, addressed to an unseen audience, are many: he reasons ("I tell you what: I'll just steer"); he whines ("I never get to do anything!"); he's creative ("Let's play 'Drive the Bus'! I'll go first"); he bargains ("C'mon! Just once around the block!"). Finally he erupts in a feather-flying tantrum, followed by a drooping sulk that ends only when a truck arrives, and new road fantasies begin. Librarians may struggle with the endpapers, which contain important story content, but the design is refreshingly minimal, focusing always on the pigeon; he's the only image on nearly every earth-toned spread. Willems is a professional animator, and each page has the feel of a perfectly frozen frame of cartoon footage--action, remarkable expression, and wild humor captured with just a few lines. Preschoolers will howl over the pigeon's dramatics, even as they recognize that he wheedles, blows up, and yearns to be powerful just like they do. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to an alternate Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4-8
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books Ltd (July 5, 2004)
• ISBN-10: 1844280136
• ISBN-13: 978-1844280131
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9.1 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (213 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #729,042 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

170 of 180 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the funniest picture books you'll ever peruse, January 23, 2004

By	E. R. Bird "Ramseelbird" (Manhattan, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Hardcover)

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.

86 of 94 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Hilarious!, November 11, 2003

By	David LaRochelle (White Bear Lake, MN USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Hardcover)

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.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As much fun for me as for my four-year-old!, July 26, 2004

By	RockyMtnReader "RockyMtnReader" (western USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! (Hardcover)

My four-year-old has gone totally gah-gah over this book (we've read it ever night for the past two weeks since checking it out at the library)! Most of the picture books she's attracted to have brightly colored, detailed illustrations. In contrast, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus utilizes simple line drawings (with a hip 60's flair) in light, cool-toned hues. Initially, I thought the rather plain presentation might not hold my daughters interest, but just the opposite has proved to be true -- rather than spreading her attention all over the page, she concentrates on the subject at hand (usually the pigeon, sometimes the bus driver) and what he is saying. She laughs hysterically at the way in which the pigeon presents his various arguments for driving the bus. She says, "Mom, he sounds just like me when I try to talk you into letting me do things that you say I'm not old enough to do yet." She also says she likes how the pigeon is always looking at us when he talks.

This is a book adult readers will enjoy every bit as much as the young listeners they're reading to.