The Bottom Line: Perfect for children ranging from the first "NO" until about seven (realistically). If you have younger children to use as an excuse, your 10-16 year old will love it too!
javajnkie's Full Review: Mo Willems - Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus
Psst...want to hear your preschooler scream "NO?" Aww, c'mon, sure you do!
Actually, I'm serious. I've spent the last few months delighting in listening to my youngest child yell it and then giggle in delight. She's not a preschooler anymore; she's seven, but although she's at the high end of the publisher's preschool-to-second grade recommendation, she loves this book.
The premise is, as with most good children's books, absurd. In fact, the title is really a synopsis.
The characters:
-One Pigeon: His big dream is to drive a bus.
-One bus driver: On page one, he goes on a break.
Your child: The star of the story, second only to the pigeon. You see, the aforementioned driver kindly puts your child in charge of making sure the pigeon doesn't get behind the wheel of the bus.
Through the rest of the book, the pigeon does a fabulous imitation of my children (both the younger set and the older kids). He pleads, begs, bribes, and deals...anything just for a chance to drive the bus. "I'll be your best friend," he offered my daughter, and when that doesn't work, he tries to buy her off with cash. Like a two-year-old whose lost the "one more cookie" battle, he tries a temper tantrum, and like my fifteen-year-old, he offers to "just steer" while you drive!
Willems, a scriptwriter for Sesame Street and other children's shows, has created a winner. My older children hopped on my bed to hear the book too, and by the last page, I had five people yelling "NO!" as loudly as they could and then laughing up a storm.
The very simple illustrations are perfect and allow the focus of the story to be the interactions between your child and the pigeon. *grin* I feel silly writing this actually--this review is longer than the book!!
Just go buy it! Even if you don't have any kids, go get the book and give it away after reading it. It'll make even the most stoic of men grin!
Final note: this is definitely a read-aloud book, and may explain the "recommended ages" for this book. Because my daughter is reading small chapter books, she probably wouldn't have picked this book out on her own. If you don't read to your independent reader anymore, pick up this book and start again!
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!HardcoverMo Willems Don t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, the story of a persistent, whiney, cajoling Pigeon who yea...More at Diapers.com
When a 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 one like this ...More at HotBookSale
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