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)
Life is tricky. You could argue that, but why? Do you have that much free time? You do? Oh. Okay, we’ll just pretend that TBR pile in the corner doesn’t exist. Over here though, we don’t have time to argue about whether life is tricky. Of course, it is! It’s so tricky, in fact, that […]
The obsession with Elephant and Piggie, best friends who star in a series of books by Sesame Street veteran and Pigeon provider Mo Willems, runs deep in my household. To give you an idea: Most mornings, the first thing my 3½-year-old says to me is, “I’m still Elephant, and you’re still Piggie.” When she sees […]
Few people have done more to encourage our children to read than the late Dr. Seuss, born Theodore Geisel. As the author of iconic picture books including The Cat in the Hat, One Fish, Two Fish, Red Fish, Blue Fish, and Green Eggs and Ham, Dr. Seuss made words magical and taught generations of children that […]
When you’re looking for the perfect gift for the most enthusiastic readers in your life—otherwise known as the picture book set—consult this list of our favorites. Featuring fed-up crayons, ornery grandparents, mischievous pigeons and puppies, and insightful shells, this list of picture book classics new and old is brimming with stimulating, insightful, and above all fun books […]
It’s nearing 8 p.m. on a midsummer’s eve, and while there’s not a wide eyelid in the house, your crew’s obviously not going down without a story or two. However, Corduroy’s found his button enough already, the pigeon has certainly driven the bus, and Pooh Bear’s fed his honey habit for ages—it’s time for something […]