2003 Caldott Honor Book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems

This 2003 Caldott Honor book, written and illustrated by Mo Willems, is a book appropriate for young readers between the ages of two and six. The text is minimal, with some pages containing only a sentence, while others have no words at all. The illustrations as sparse as well, but they work and are light and playful.

In my opinion, what makes this book special is the conversational language and the moral overtones. First, though there are very few words, what is there is not the typical text-book style of writing that one might expect. Instead, there are phrases like "How 'bout" and "C'mon!" These little bits of vernacular make the book, the characters, and the dialog seem more personal and fun.

With respect to the moral of this fun little story, it is always a good idea to reinforce the idea of respecting authority and doing what one knows is right. The bus driver, just as a teacher, police officer, or parent might, gives the child instructions for what to do. When that person is out of sight, the child must obey even though there are temptations to do otherwise.




Willems, Mo (2003). Don't_let_the_pigeon.jpg. Retrieved February 12, 2009, from LARL.ORG Web site: http://www.larl.org
/kids/images/don%27t_let_the_pigeon.jpg

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