Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Mo Willems. Released by Disney-Hyperion in 2003, it was Willems' first book for children, and received the Caldecott Honor. [1] The plot is about a bus driver who has to leave so he asks the reader to not allow the Pigeon to drive the bus. The Pigeon wants to have at least one ride and comes up with various excuses to drive the bus but the readers keep on telling him "NO!", which aggravates the Pigeon. An animated adaptation of the book, produced by Weston Woods Studios, won the 2010 Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video. [2] Sequels [ edit ] Write an alternative ending for the story in which the pigeon DOES get to drive the bus. What happens? This fully animated app includes hilarious shake-and-play technology, customized voice integration, and other exciting interactive features. Plus, you can draw the Pigeon with Mo! Wow! I never would have thought that a book a pigeon just asking the audience if he can drive the bus throughout the book would be so interesting to read! Mo Willems has done an awesome job at both illustrating and writing this book about the pigeon asking everyone if he could drive the bus. What I found so interesting about this book was the fact that the only illustrations shown in this book were mainly of a blue pigeon and a bus driver in a grey and green uniform who only shows up at the beginning and end of the book, but Mo Williems did a great job at making this book extremely hilarious by giving out different expressions for the pigeon which ranges from excitement to anger. Mo Williem’s writing is extremely simple yet witty at the same time as it goes to show that you do not have to have long sentences to make a great book! What I really loved about Mo Williems’ writing is the dialogue that the Pigeon is given as it is hilarious and witty to listen to and my favorite quotes from the pigeon were, “Pigeon at the Wheel!” and “No? I never get to do anything!”

Additionally, kids will likely conclude that it is better to believe people who have previously established themselves as trustworthy, although other, more deep philosophical issues could come up here. For example, there is the issue of whether the person making an argument should matter or whether the argument should stand or fall on its own merits: you could ask, what the difference might be if it was your teacher telling you to let the pigeon drive the bus rather than the pigeon itself. However, what if you still knew it wasn’t safe? What if your mother told you so? This section may prompt children to think about rationality. They may recognize that, to be convinced of something, evidence and/or good reasons should be required. Your mom can give you good reasons to make sure to eat lunch every day, which is why it’s good to be convinced that eating lunch every day is a good thing. A question to prompt this could be: what could the pigeon do to convince us it’s safe to let him drive? You might hear: show us his driver’s license, provide evidence of past driving, and so on. Then, there are good follow-up questions, like, when do you need evidence to believe someone? If the bus driver had left without telling us not to let the pigeon drive the bus, would it be okay for us to let him drive? Cameo appearances by the Pigeon can also be found in Willems's Knuffle Bunny, Elephant and Piggie, Leonardo, the Terrible Monster and Cat the Cat book series.

In addition to the Caldecott Honor, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is an American Library Association Notable Book, a National Council of Teachers of English Notable Book, a Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books Blue Ribbon Book, [4] and a South Carolina Picture Book Award winner [5] Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association listed the book as one of its "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children." [6] It was selected as one of the "Top 100 Picture Books" of all time in a 2012 poll by School Library Journal. [7] If somebody is trying really hard to convince you of something, should you believe them more or less? Three-time Caldecott Honoree Mo Willems brings the Pigeon to the digital screen with this original, feature-rich, animated app. Make a new version of this story based on a similar title, e.g. “Don’t Let the Pigeon Steer the Ship!” or “Don’t Let the Pigeon Control the Steamroller”.

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! If you knew that punishing the pigeon would not stop him from trying to drive the bus again, would you still punish him?

Curriculum

A 2011 scientific study entitled "Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" examined the ability of pigeons to solve the traveling salesperson problem by taking the shortest route to visit multiple feeders in a laboratory. The authors found that pigeons "appeared to plan ahead multiple steps," which provided "clear and strong evidence that animals other than primates are capable of planning sophisticated travel routes." [11] [12] Would you like to see your material in posts like this one? A great way to do so is to participate in our Linky Parties. For directions on how to link up, write to us. 😉 I do not like the artwork of Mo Willems. He did the Elephant and Piggie series and I didn’t like that series. Now, the kids did like it. I went into this with dread, I’ll be honest. Count how many times the following words are used in the story: Pigeon, bus, drive, I, vroom and just. Use these to create tally charts and other kinds of graphs. In Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, a bus driver begins the story by expressing to readers the importance of not letting the pigeon drive the bus while he is gone. However, the persuasive pigeon spends the entirety of the book trying to talk us into letting him drive the bus.

Should someone be punished for doing something bad if their parent told them to do it? Why or why not? If the pigeon grabbed the bus wheel, what should we do? Then: would it be our fault if he hurt someone? Original questions and guidelines for philosophical discussion by Teddy Willard and Soren Schlassa. Edited June 2020 by The Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.Horowitz, A.; Shea, A. (December 30, 2011). "Story Time, Debunked". New York Times . Retrieved December 31, 2011.

After reading any (or all!) of the Pigeon books by Mo Willems, you will tell your students that Pigeon cannot be left at school alone at night because he gets into trouble when he isn’t supervised. He needs to have a babysitter and you were wondering if they could help! Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation. What a lesson for kids. Peer pressure. Bad attitudes. Silliness. Safety. Keeping quiet. All the things to show why it's good not to 'give in' to someone just because they try to get you to do something. I have read many books by Mo Willems that have been honored with the Caldecott Honor award, which included the “Knuffle Bunny” series. Now I have recently read “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” which is actually Mo Willems’ first children’s book and is a Caldecott Honor book and it is about how the Pigeon keeps asking the audience if he could drive the bus after the bus driver leaves to run an errand. “Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!” is truly a memorable book that children can read over and over again!Should we punish the pigeon if he drives the bus and kills someone? If so, what should be the punishment? What about the bus driver: should he be punished? How about us, if we let the pigeon drive? The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! is a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. [8] Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! is a Parenting Magazine Best Book. [9] The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! is the 2009 Children's Choice Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year. [10] Gibson, B.; Wilkinson, M.; Kelly, D. (October 1, 2011). "Let the pigeon drive the bus: pigeons can plan future routes in a room". Animal Cognition. 15 (3): 379–91. doi: 10.1007/s10071-011-0463-9. PMID 21965161. S2CID 14994429.