Book Review Essay Where the Wild Things Are by Maurice Sendak and Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! by Mo Williams are both picture books that encompass two very different styles within the picture book genre of children’s literature. Even though both picture books were written roughly for the same age group and both received Caldecott Awards, Where the Wild Things Are is a book that captures the attention of any reader, regardless of age, and is a timeless classic that is “arguably the single greatest picture book ever created” (Hotspur Closser, Bird). Where the Wild Things Are, a Caldecott Medal winning picture book in 1964 (American Library Association), was first published by Harper Collins in 1963 and expanded the possibilities of the …show more content…
was published by Hyperion Books for Children in 2003, and is one of many books that Willem created about the pigeon’s adventures. Much like Where the Wild Things Are, this fictional book won an honorable mention in the American Library Association’s Caldecott Award (American Library Association), and it is a tale of a pigeon who dreams of driving a bus, and who pleads and cajoles for the opportunity. The driver of the bus has to leave so he addresses the listeners directly, through the use of a speech bubble, and asks them to make sure the pigeon does not drive the bus. The pigeon makes many excuses and tries to finagle listeners into letting him drive the bus. The author engages the audience, by making sure the listeners say “no” in order to keep the pigeon off the bus. Finally, when the bus driver gets back he thanks the audience for helping him keep the pigeon off of the bus. Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus! is a story that encourages cooperation, leadership and responsibility, as it emphasizes the right thing to do as well as how to say “no”. The book it sends out a great message in the sense that when someone asks you to do something, you should follow your word. The book engages the reader, especially children, as it encourages them respond to the reader. This book not only contains a story-line that engages readers, it is also very entertaining as it allows the readers to participate and get