So we went late one night to Borders (because Barnes & Noble closes SO early) and wandered around the kids section looking at Caldecott Award winning books. This book, (it's actually called "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus") was written by Mo Willems and we picked it up after we read another book he wrote which won the Caldecott, Knuffle Bunny.
Oh, man, this has got to be the best children's book written since "The monster at the end of the book." Mo used to be a cartoonist for Seasame Street and it shows in some of his books. We highly recommend the three that we read: Pigeon, Knuffle, and Leonardo, the terrible monster. But Pigeon in particular is a great book.
No surprises, it's a kids book. So, there's not much there. But, unlike most kids books, this one goes beyond the physical interaction and involves the kid as the authority figure. The whole premise is that the pigeon wants to ride the bus and the kid has to tell him "no."
"I'll be your best friend"
NO!
"How 'bout I give you five bucks?"
NO!
"What's the big deal?!"
NO!
"It's just a bus!"
NO!
"No Fair!"
NO!
"I bet your mom would let me drive"
NO!
"I have dreams you know..."
NO!
This book is wonderful, especially for that age when kids just want to say NO to everything, this is a book that they can get all that frustration out by telling an adorable pigeon, NO!
Hopefully they won't tell an adorable parent NO afterwards. :)
Update: Mo Willems' books didn't win the Caldecott, they were only Caldecott honor books.
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