Book: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
Author and Illustrator: Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children
Publication date: 2003
Picture Book
Lexile Score: 120L
Target Audience: ages 2-6 years old
Brief Summary
This book is a about a bus driver who asks the readers to watch the pigeon until he gets back. Oh and don't forget, "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus!" The pigeon does everything in his power to convince the reader to let him drive the bus. He begs and he bribes but ends up with no luck. The grateful bus driver returns but the pigeon has already found something else to drive, a semi-truck!
Evaluation: 29/32
Illustration - 4
Storyline - 4
Appropriateness - 4
Problems/Resolutions - 4
Stereotyping - 4
Relatability - 3
Readability/Cohesiveness - 3
Critical Thinking - 3
This book is very fun for children to read because they get to be involved. When the reader is being talked to by the main character, they feel like the character is actually hearing them and responding. This book gets the students thinking about logic and why the pigeon shouldn't be allowed to drive the bus. It teachers persuasion and critical thinking.
Literary Elements
1. Personification - The book has both a human and a pigeon talking when pigeons don't speak English at all.
2. Exaggeration- The way to pigeon is trying to persuade the reader to allow him to ride the bus shows a lot of exaggeration. For example, the pigeon says "I have dreams you know!" when in all actuality, it would be ridiculous to ever let a pigeon drive a bus.
3. Dialogue- This is another form of dialogue that Mo Willems uses and it makes the reading of this book a lot more exciting. If I were to teach a lesson on dialogue, I could pair this book with another book showing a different type of dialogue and the students would see that there are different ways to show characters having a conversation and interacting with the reader. The students could then use these different types of dialogue in their own stories.
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