Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!

by Mo Willems

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

We've waited 20 years for this special anniversay edition. 20! Years! Do you know how long that is? Over that time Mo Willems has given us so many wonderful stories and characters to help fill our shelves and we're all ready to celebrate two decades of Pigeon prowess.

Mo Willems, #1 New York Times best-selling creator and three-time Caldecott Honoree, presents the 20th anniversary edition of the book that started it all: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, now featuring an exclusive board game!

Finally, a book you can say "no" to!

When the 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 a pigeon like this one before. As the Pigeon pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, readers answer back and decide his fate.

Mo Willems' hilarious picture book was awarded a 2004 Caldecott Honor and has been inducted into the Picture Book Hall of Fame. Now, twenty years later, readers can amp up the fun in an all-new board game featuring the Pigeon! Players drive their bus pieces around town. The first player to get to the Bus Depot wins, but remember—don't let the Pigeon drive the bus!

Say “No!” to all the Pigeon books!

• The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!
• Don’t Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late!
• The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!
• The Duckling Gets a Cookie!?
• The Pigeon HAS to Go to School!
• The Pigeon Will Ride the Roller Coaster!

For Mo’ amazing books, check out these other great series:

• Knuffle Bunny
• Elephant & Piggie
• Unlimited Squirrels

Read Full Overview

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368090230
Publisher:	Disney Publishing Group
Publication date:	04/04/2023
Series:	Mo Willems's Pigeon Series
Pages:	40
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded three Caldecott Honors for his picture books, two Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals, and five Geisel Honors for his celebrated Elephant & Piggie series. He lives in Massachusetts with his family. Learn more at pigeonpresents.com.

Mo Willems, a number one New York Times best-selling author and illustrator, has been awarded three Caldecott Honors for his picture books, two Theodor Seuss Geisel Medals, and five Geisel Honors for his celebrated Elephant & Piggie series. He lives in Massachusetts with his family. Learn more at pigeonpresents.com.

Editorial Reviews

The premise of this cheeky debut is charmingly absurd. When a bus driver goes on break, he asks the audience to keep an eye on his vehicle and the daft, bug-eyed pigeon who desperately wants to drive it. The pigeon then relentlessly begs readers for some time behind the wheel: "I tell you what: I'll just steer. My cousin Herb drives a bus almost every day! True story." Willems hooks his audience quickly with the pigeon-to-reader approach and minimalist cartoons. The bluish-gray bird, outlined in black crayon, expresses countless, amusing emotions through tiny shifts in eye movement or wing position. The plucky star peeks in from the left side of a page, and exhibits an array of pleading strategies against window-pane panels in mauve, salmon and willow ("I'll be your best friend," he says wide-eyed in one, and whispers behind a wing, "How 'bout I give you five bucks?"). Finally he erupts in a full-spread tantrum on an orange background, the text outlined in electric yellow ("Let me drive the bus!!!"). When the driver returns and takes off, the bird slumps dejectedly until a big red truck inspires a new round of motoring fantasies. Readers will likely find satisfaction in this whimsical show of emotions and, perhaps, a bit of self-recognition. Ages 2-6. (Apr.) Copyright 2003 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

PreS-Gr 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.

School Library Journal

This cinematic adventure, with its simple retro-cartoonish drawings, begins on the opening endpapers when a pale blue pigeon dreams of driving a bus. On the title page, the profile of the strong-jawed bus driver notes in a word bubble that he has to leave for a little while and requests that the reader watch things for him. "Oh and remember: "Don’t let the Pigeon Drive the Bus." The text is a handwritten, typewriter-like hand in white word bubbles set on a background of neutral tones of lavender, salmon, celadon, and beige. With the bus in the reader’s care, the bus driver nonchalantly strolls away. Turn the page and readers see a close-up of the pigeon, who spends the next 13 well-paced pages begging, pleading, lying, and bribing his way into their hearts. The words "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!" triple in size and leap from the page as the pigeon loses control, flopping across the bottom of the pages. Readers of all ages will nod with recognition of his helplessness and frustration. The bus driver returns, thanks the readers, and drives away, leaving the pigeon with his head hanging in sadness. And just like any young person, he’s quickly distracted from his disappointment when a huge truck tire zooms into view. In the end, the pigeon dreams of driving the big red tractor-trailer truck. A first picture book by an Emmy Award–winning writer and animator, listeners will be begging, pleading, lying, and bribing to hear it again and again. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews

This whimsical picture book charges young listeners with carrying out the title task, despite being confronted by a pigeon who will do anything to get the wheel of the bus in his wingtips. Author-illustrator Mo Willems’s narration makes one imagine a very fun publicity tour. As narrator, Willems offers listeners a pigeon who's urbane and gritty, blue-collared and husky voiced. He sounds like a New York bird as he exhorts, wheedles, and attempts to bribe listeners into letting him have his way. His bellow of thwarted desire will make listeners of all ages laugh, as will Willems’s spare (yet incredibly droll) illustrations. This production includes an engaging interview with the author. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine

JULY 2009 - AudioFile