Day 64: Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus

I usually try to spread out posts by authors that we love, but my son is so excited by this book right now that I couldn't resist!  When his amazingly generous Uncle Jeff found out how much my son loved Knuffle Bunny, he sent it (and the fabulous sequels) to us, along with another Mo Willems classic, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!  (Thank you, Uncle Jeff!)  Like Knuffle Bunny, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is a Caldecott honor book with fabulous illustrations and fantastically comical text that immediately engages young readers and makes parents smile.   Upon opening the book, you see Willems' simple, vintage-style illustrations of a pigeon dreaming about driving a bus.  Turn the page once more, and you meet the bus driver, who kindly asks you before the story even starts not to let the pigeon drive the bus.  Finally, we meet our determined little pigeon, who immediately says, "I thought he'd never leave!"  Then pausing, looking oh-so-innocent: "Hey, can I drive the bus?  Please?  I'll be careful."  And from the very first time we read this story, my son immediately yelled out, "No!" after each of the pigeon's requests with an ever-growing smile on his face.  I was amazed by how he immediately interacted with the story so fully, never doubting for a second that the bus driver was talking directly to him and that he was now in charge.  The pigeon's expressions in this book are priceless, as are my son's reactions to his incessant pleading to drive the bus.  The pigeon is clever and persistent in his requests until, after repeatedly being told "No!", he breaks down into a perfectly three-year-old-esque tantrum: "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!"  Any parent will be able to relate to the continuous pleading, and any child will be delighted to be the one finally saying, "No!" over and over and over.  There are a bunch of other Pigeon books in the series, and given our recent love affair with Mo Willems, I have no doubt we'll be bringing them home from the library soon.