Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems

Published by Hyperion Books for Children

Text begins right away when you open the front cover of the book, before you can even read the title. There is a bus driver with a speech bubble addressing the reader not to let the pigeon drive the bus. Then, through the book, the pigeon that we meet asks, then begs to drive the bus. He becomes increasingly agitated until he completely loses it, and then the bus driver comes back and thanks the reader for not letting the pigeon drive the bus.

This book is incredibly funny and endearing. The reader gets to take on the responsibility of telling the pigeon "no, he cannot drive the bus," while the pigeon takes on the role of the child. Mo Willems has captured the dream of every child who ever became frustrated at grown-ups telling them "no." This is a position that any kid would love to be in, the roles are reversed and the kids are now in charge. Also, children can definitely relate to the pigeons feelings about not being allowed to do what he wants. So this book is a great text-to-self read. Plus, it is just plain funny to see that pigeon freak out!

Mo Willems' illustrations are simple yet he completely tells the story with them. His stark backgrounds give real focus to the pigeon and how he's feeling. Willems really seems to understand what children like and how they feel, and children like the artwork because it is easy for them to understand also. Sometimes less is more, and I believe Willems really hit the nail on the head with the drawings in this book. Also, giving speech bubbles to the pigeon really helps to give the pigeon human qualities, helping children to relate more.