Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
by Mo Willems
★ Top 5 book of 2003 · #4 on Best Books of 2003
The pigeon is not supposed to drive the bus while the driver is away, but he tries every persuasive trick a young child knows to get the reader to say yes. A picture book that talks straight to the reader.
Best for: Parents reading aloud to young children.
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is #4 on BookWard's Best Books of 2003, out of 52 2003 books that cleared our data bar.
What Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is about
A bus driver has to step away for a moment, and before leaving he leaves you one job: do not let the Pigeon drive the bus. The Pigeon, of course, has other plans. All he wants is one ride, just one, and he tries every trick a small child knows to get it. He pleads, he bargains, he begs, and he sulks when you hold firm.
The joke is that you are in charge. Each page asks the reader to say no, and each no makes the Pigeon more indignant and more inventive. Mo Willems wrote and illustrated this picture book in 2003, and it was his first for children. It earned a Caldecott Honor. Young listeners will love shouting back at the page, and grown-ups will recognize the bargaining at once. It suits read-aloud time best.
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! on the Best Books of 2003
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! came out in 2003. Of the 52 books first published in 2003 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #4 on our Best Books of 2003 list.
Why it made the list: 999 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (97 ratings); 39 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Reader favorite.
Nearby on the 2003 list
- Into the Wild Erin Hunter, #2
- The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini, #3
- A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, #5
- The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown, #6
See all Best Books of 2003 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 2002 Best Books of 2004.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 768 want to read it, 39 are reading it now and 192 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 4.4 out of 5 from 97 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 88 | 55% |
| Reader love | 96 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 83 | 20% |
Questions about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!
When was Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! published?
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Willems was first published in 2003.
Was Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! one of the best books of 2003?
Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is #4 on BookWard's Best Books of 2003, out of 52 2003 books that cleared our data bar. 999 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (97 ratings); 39 are reading it right now.
Why is Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! on the Best Books of 2003 list?
999 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 4.4 out of 5 (97 ratings); 39 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2003
- Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix J. K. Rowling, #1
- Into the Wild Erin Hunter, #2
- The Kite Runner Khaled Hosseini, #3
- A Short History of Nearly Everything Bill Bryson, #5
- The Da Vinci Code Dan Brown, #6
- The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time Mark Haddon, #7
See the full Best Books of 2003, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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