What do you think?
Rate this book
Don't Let The Pigeon Question The Rules!: A Parody for Tyrannical Youngsters
The book "Don’t Let The Pigeon Drive the Bus" (2003) is a bestselling second-person narrative in which readers are asked (instructed) to keep a small bird from his chosen pastime of driving a bus. The reader is not given a choice as to whether to carry out this mandate, nor provided with the reasoning behind it. One is simply taken step-by-step through the process of forbidding the pigeon, and at each juncture expected to internalize the logic of her commanders. The book has become a successful ideological tool in the manufacture of obedience. Disguised beneath upbeat imagery and seemingly benign intent, the book’s ultimate function is to turn children dim-witted and servile, perfect prey for the despots and demagogues of their generation.
Yet things need not be this way. Don’t Let the Pigeon Question the Rules is a parodic work, designed to expose the original Pigeon books for what they are: thinly veiled indoctrination in the authoritarian mindset. Applying the principle of civil disobedience, as practiced by Thoreau, Dr. King, and Gandhi, Don’t Let The Pigeon Question The Rules is a humane alternative to the bleak proceduralist vision of Mo Willems’s bestselling totalitarian classics. It presents a world in which freedom and reason can peaceably coexist.
Yet things need not be this way. Don’t Let the Pigeon Question the Rules is a parodic work, designed to expose the original Pigeon books for what they are: thinly veiled indoctrination in the authoritarian mindset. Applying the principle of civil disobedience, as practiced by Thoreau, Dr. King, and Gandhi, Don’t Let The Pigeon Question The Rules is a humane alternative to the bleak proceduralist vision of Mo Willems’s bestselling totalitarian classics. It presents a world in which freedom and reason can peaceably coexist.
36 pages, Paperback
Published October 22, 2014
32 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
September 20, 2019
It was mildly amusing. I get the point Robinson was making, but it came across more like teaching that all rules are wrong rather than questioning (which means getting details so you know if and why the rule is important, say, not letting an unlicensed driver who has no idea what they're doing drive a lethal weapon on wheels which could result in the deaths of many people).
December 27, 2017
Although I never before thought of Mo Willems's "Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" as an induction into blind authoritarianism for children, Nathan J. Robinson's parody has made me question its -- perhaps unintentional -- message.
In this parody, the pigeon does get to drive the bus -- or at least steer, while a faceless narrator operates the pedals -- because, according to the narrator, "Just laws must be enforced. Unjust laws must be disobeyed."
As an educator, rules conflict me. I tell children -- and college-aged adults who act and think like children, as I did at their age -- to do things, which I believe to be justified: turn in homework on time, shut the fuck up in the library, etc. I get frustrated when they don't do them. However, I think I would be less frustrated if, instead of just blatantly being lazy/disobedient, they would present me with a critical analysis of why they shouldn't. I likely wouldn't be convinced, but I would appreciate the effort.
This parody encourages children of all ages to actively question authority. This is important in 2017's totalitarian regime. I think this is a good book for adults who read these books to children. As readers and teachers, we need to question them, too. And encourage the children to ask questions themselves.
Ever realistic, Robinson shows that although questioning authority is important, it likely won't end well. Clad in an orange jumpsuit and being transferred to Guantanamo, the pigeon muses, "Never underestimate the danger posed by the combination of an uncritical acceptance of hierarchical power and a widespread climate of fear."
In this parody, the pigeon does get to drive the bus -- or at least steer, while a faceless narrator operates the pedals -- because, according to the narrator, "Just laws must be enforced. Unjust laws must be disobeyed."
As an educator, rules conflict me. I tell children -- and college-aged adults who act and think like children, as I did at their age -- to do things, which I believe to be justified: turn in homework on time, shut the fuck up in the library, etc. I get frustrated when they don't do them. However, I think I would be less frustrated if, instead of just blatantly being lazy/disobedient, they would present me with a critical analysis of why they shouldn't. I likely wouldn't be convinced, but I would appreciate the effort.
This parody encourages children of all ages to actively question authority. This is important in 2017's totalitarian regime. I think this is a good book for adults who read these books to children. As readers and teachers, we need to question them, too. And encourage the children to ask questions themselves.
Ever realistic, Robinson shows that although questioning authority is important, it likely won't end well. Clad in an orange jumpsuit and being transferred to Guantanamo, the pigeon muses, "Never underestimate the danger posed by the combination of an uncritical acceptance of hierarchical power and a widespread climate of fear."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews