Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus by Mo Willems

Willems, Mo. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. New York City: Hyperion Books for Children, 2003.

The story begins right as we open the book. In the front end-pages, a cartoon pigeon dreams of driving a bus. On the title page, a bus driver introduces himself and asks us if we will watch his bus for a short while. He adds, in what would seem like an afterthought was it not the title of the book, “Oh, and remember: Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” That simple task becomes all-consuming when we are confronted with the persistent pigeon. The pigeon asks to drive the bus. The pigeon begs to drive the bus. The pigeon attempts to trick us into letting it drive the bus. Finally, the pigeon throws a fit of frustration when we do not allow it to drive the bus. Though the bus driver returns to a pigeon-free bus, his return is not the end of the story because on the final pages the pigeon encounters a semi-truck, which, predictably, he dreams of driving.

Willems’ simple, creative and effective use of page space, beginning on that very first end-page, is exciting because of its interactive nature. The back cover of the book proclaims, “Finally, a book you can say ‘no’ to!”An emphatic “NO!” is just how young and old readers alike are likely to react to the pleading pigeon. While the elementary word choice and the naïve cartoon drawings make the text seem childlike, they portray a cunning (and very human) pigeon whose tactics and emotions are universally recognizable.

For more information about the book, the pigeon or the author, check out: http://www.mowillems.com