Willems, M. (2003). Don't let the pigeon drive the bus! New York: Hyperion Books for Children. 

After reading Knuffle Bunny, by Mo Willems, I was very excited to read Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. This is a title that I have heard a lot around my school, so I thought I would give it a try. I have to say I was a little disappointed. In Knuffle Bunny, Willems uses one of the most creative medias for his illustrations. However, in this book, he uses pencil cartoon drawings. They are cute drawings, but very very simple. This very much contrasts the detail in the Knuffle Bunny illustrations that I was looking forward to. Despite my opinion, this book won the Caldecott Honor Award for its illustrations.


I did like how the author uses the title page and copyright page to begin telling the story not only with illustrations, but with dialogue. He also begins the characterization of pigeon from the very beginning by using thought bubbles. There is a sense of personification as the reader gets inside the pigeons brain and gets to hear what a pigeon may be thinking. This story has a person (or bird) - against-society conflict. The pigeon is faced with a problem. He is never allowed to drive the bus. This is very frustrating for the bird which the illustration shows on pages 21 and 22. This is a double spread illustration using many diagonal lines to show motion and frustration. Here is an example of what the pigeon looks like in this illustration. 

This book can connect to student interest because all students, as well as adults, have been frustrated by their circumstances before, or have felt like they weren't being heard. This book allows them to sort through these feelings in a lighthearted way, and also opens up the door for discussion on this topic and how to process those feelings in a healthy way. 


If I had to choose the most important word for this story, I would choose "c'mon". This word is used on page 17 and I think it sums up the entire story. From beginning to end, the pigeon is pleading with everyone it encounters to drive the bus. I think "c'mon" captures that pleading perfectly. When you imagine a child who really wants something and keeps asking and asking and no one is listening, most people will imagine them saying this word. 


Big Question: Describe a time when you felt that no matter how hard you tried, or how loud you spoke, no one would listen to you. How did that make you feel? How did you handle it? Could it have been handled in a better way? 


-Haley