The Pigeon Loves Things That Go!

Pigeon #5

by Mo Willems

In Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! , the pigeon dreamed of driving the titular bus. In this board book, readers will see him deliriously emoting at the thought of driving a plane, a train, a car, and more, all in his uproariously over-the-top style.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Humor, Transport, Animals, Fiction, Birds

12 pages, Board book

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

#1 New York Times Bestselling author and illustrator Mo Willems is best known for his Caldecott Honor winning picture books Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Knuffle Bunny: a cautionary tale.

In addition to such picture books as Leonardo the Terrible Monster, Edwina the Dinosaur Who Didn’t Know She Was Extinct, and Time to Pee, Mo has created the Elephant and Piggie books, a series of early readers, and published You Can Never Find a Rickshaw When it Monsoons, an annotated cartoon journal sketched during a year-long voyage around the world in 1990-91.

The New York Times Book Review called Mo “the biggest new talent to emerge thus far in the 00's."

Mo’s work books have been translated into a myriad of languages, spawned animated shorts and theatrical musical productions, and his illustrations, wire sculpture, and carved ceramics have been exhibited in galleries and museums across the nation.

Mo began his career as a writer and animator for television, garnering 6 Emmy awards for his writing on Sesame Street, creating Nickelodeon's The Off-Beats, Cartoon Network’s Sheep in the Big City and head-writing Codename: Kids Next Door.

He lives in Brooklyn, New York with his family.

Reviews

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A board book geared for the super young reader, Mo Willems places his Pigeon character in the middle of it. It’s time to talk about different ways to get from one place to another. The young reader can learn all about these forms of transportation, with a little editorialising by our feathered friend. By the end, the reader is enriched and Pigeon is proud to have passed along the information. Neo wanted to get this book, more for the characters than anything else. Pigeon has become one of the characters he likes the most because of the stubbornness that is shown each and every day.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

#48 in my 365 Kids Books challenge and multi-year effort to get Goodreads to fix the Top Readers, etc. lists. For a fuller explanation see my review for 101 Amazing Facts about Australia You can see all the books on their own shelf It seems unlikely that I will actually achieve 365 reviews of kids books this year, but I don't plan to stop.


11 April 2021

Rereading books that I previously enjoyed is my favorite form of nostalgia. I haven't read most of the Mo Willems books since they first came out and/or I read them with my kids. And you know what? They're still really delightful to me. I admire how much he manages to convey with such simple images. This one, a board book, is even simpler, but it manages to capture the same energy, with seemingly very little effort. Not that it is easy to make things look effortless, it actually takes more effort to do something well and also like it's no big.



***

10 Dec 2005

Please let Mo Willems start publishing books for older readers. We've almost aged out of his offerings and that makes me sad.

[Jon Nakapalau · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another adventure with the Pigeon - lots of fun for small children.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Why is Kris reading board books? Has he finally gone 'round the bend? No, this is just one of the books my sister had on her to-read list when she passed away. I think she had just about everything Mo Willems has written on her list.
I flipped back and forth between giving this book 3 stars and giving it 4. Let's call it 3 1/2. While it did have a couple funny or cute moments, I wasn't thrilled. But let's face it, I'm not exactly its target audience. I like Willems' other books for his weird sense of humor, and for his ability to tell an entertaining, emotional story using such basically drawn characters. With a board book, the writer has a very limited number of pages (this one had 8), so it's hard to tell much of a story in such a short amount of space. And besides, I don't think board books are about telling a story; I think their purpose is more about introducing very early readers to words (and images) in print. If a basic board book has pictures and a few words, Willems has gone well beyond that. The pigeon from his other books identifies several "things that go" and comments on each thing, and there's a surprise ending with that annoying little duckling.
So, not really my cup of tea, but for what it is, it's pretty good.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very short but the pigeon's comments make it worth it.

[Zahra Labbafan · Rating 3 out of 5]

کتاب رو نشر کانون پرورش فکری کودکان و نوجوانان با ترجمه زهرا احمدی چاپ کرده
نقاشی با اینکه خیلی ساده بود ول به نظرم برای بچه ها جذابه مخصوصا وقتی کبوتره عصبانیه
کتاب طوری هست که باید با بچه بخونید و اون جواب بده به سوال ها و با کتاب همراه بشه و این کتاب نه گفتن رو در برابر خواسته‌های نادرست یاد میده

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Goes very well with the rest of the series!

[Igor · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too short.

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Harriet loves to do what her big brother does. Since Sean was getting bird books from the library, she chose The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! a board book by Mo Willems. Sean actually has a number of the longer Pigeon books but Harriet saw a character she recognized and had to take it home to read.

The Pigeon Loves Things That Go! features each of the Pigeon's favorite things. There's the infamous bus of course, and a train and best of all, the hot dog.

As with all of the Pigeon books, the drawings are quick and bold and happy. Even a ten page board book is enough to bring smiles to Harriet, Sean and me.

[Drew Graham · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are lots of things that go, and the Pigeon loves them all (as does the Duck).

This Smidgeon of Pigeon (and Duck!) is a great mini-board book, short but full of things with wheels, which is just the thing at our house. And of course there's the classic Mo Willems honesty and humor that you know you can expect with a Pigeon book.

[SaraLaLa · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of those books that lists items (in this case, things that go) along with a picture of that item. Pigeon likes to make his/her comments on the side of said picture and written word of item.

This book was okay, but could do with being a little bit longer. The ending was cute, though. I liked the use of hot dogs here. :)

[Alicia Evans · Rating 2 out of 5]

I like the Pigeon books a lot, but this one was iffy. We see 3 forms of transportation--that's it. While the book gives the usual funny Pigeon and Ducking characterization, I just wanted more.

For: fans of the Pigeon books; readers looking for a basic transportation book that doesn't go too in depth.

Possible red flags: some may feel that the book doesn't cover enough; anger/pouting.

[Brenda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This series has some good books. This one is average.

[Laurie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dumb. Like four pages with no story. Pigeon is a rude, spoiled brat too.

[Jamie Jessup · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very short addition to the pigeon series by Mo Willems. This book is definitely aimed at a younger audience than his normal books, containing only few pages and minimal text. It would be a good fit for early readers (pre-k or kindergarten) and could be used as a jumping off point for talking about things that go in real life. I would love to structure a lesson around this book about modes of transportation, or even comparing and contrasting things that go that are alive (horse, lion, etc.) and not alive (train, bus, etc.). The book itself does not have very much content, but it could still be incorporated into different lessons or units depending on the subject. I would probably use this book in pre-k or kindergarten classrooms, and I would encourage students to look it themselves and try to understand what is happening based on the pictures and few words.

[Jer Bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mo Willems truly knows his audience! There is nothing that speaks to the baby's heart so clearly, nor delights him so utterly, as the Pigeon. Is it the Pigeon's frenetic flapping? His desperate need to tell all the grown-ups that My Wish Must Be Fulfilled Immediately Or the World Will Probably End (I feel this most keenly when I am demanding to be liberated from my highchair at the end of dinner time). Perhaps it is his searing monocular gaze?

The adults may muse, but Mo Willems (and the babies) know. And we're not telling. Tee-hee!

[Andrés · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think the pigeon would already need to be beloved for this book to land, and I'm already salty on pigeon because he was rude to a bus driver once. I also think the joke at then end may not make sense to young readers; and, pigeons are meant to fly, rather than proclaim a CO2 emitting airplane is much easier than flapping. Incidentally, no bicycles?

[Christy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I also read this book with First Grade. I have not read any of the other pigeon books, so this seemed a bit boring to me. Again, the kids had it memorized and were shouting out the next part before I could even turn the page. Maybe that took a little of the appeal away too.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

This really is a smidgeon of pigeon. Definitely designed for a younger audience than Oz, but it was one of the last two we hadn't read. Very sad, we have no more Pigeon books to read! Great for a starter or intro to the Pigeon and their love of things that go, especially buses.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fairly obvious exploitation of the Pigeon brand, making a 6 page board book featuring only three vehicles. However, a very beginning reader who is familiar with the Pigeon can feel successful reading this short and silly book.

[Lacy | literary_lacy · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute introduction to Pigeon. It teaches young kids some common modes of transportation.

This book is by Mo Willems, so it has his popular style and fun pigeon.

This book is great for younger kids.

[W.A. Ashes · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's always difficult to rate children's books, but I'm giving this one 4 out of 5 because my nephews and nieces love it. The pigeon is one of their favorite characters. They love how sassy he is. In this book, Pigeon talks about things that go and teaches kids about what vehicles are.

[Melissa Swistek · Rating 5 out of 5]

I just love Mo Willems and was so excited to find a board book of theirs for younger kids. This short book teaches baby about public transportation vehicles that “go” (plus a surprise at the end).

I love the simple art and Willems’ characters that have spunk while not being annoying.

[Amber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Made me laugh after a not-so-great day. Gets my vote.

[Taryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

Funny!

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent book. good one to read with young children.

[Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

1000 Books Before Kindergarten

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short but still funny.

[Maxwell Rae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok for a board book

[Rebecca Caufman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super cute board book with a favorite character as the star. Good for classifying things that go and it has a surprise and funny ending.