A 2011 scientific study entitled "Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus" examined the ability of pigeons to solve the traveling salesperson problem by taking the shortest route to visit multiple feeders in a laboratory. The authors found that pigeons "appeared to plan ahead multiple steps," which provided "clear and strong evidence that animals other than primates are capable of planning sophisticated travel routes." [11] [12] Additionally, kids will likely conclude that it is better to believe people who have previously established themselves as trustworthy, although other, more deep philosophical issues could come up here. For example, there is the issue of whether the person making an argument should matter or whether the argument should stand or fall on its own merits: you could ask, what the difference might be if it was your teacher telling you to let the pigeon drive the bus rather than the pigeon itself. However, what if you still knew it wasn’t safe? What if your mother told you so? This section may prompt children to think about rationality. They may recognize that, to be convinced of something, evidence and/or good reasons should be required. Your mom can give you good reasons to make sure to eat lunch every day, which is why it’s good to be convinced that eating lunch every day is a good thing. A question to prompt this could be: what could the pigeon do to convince us it’s safe to let him drive? You might hear: show us his driver’s license, provide evidence of past driving, and so on. Then, there are good follow-up questions, like, when do you need evidence to believe someone? After my daughter and I worked our way through the entire epic Elephant & Piggie saga, we've decided to move on to Mo Willems other big series: The Pigeon. The first in this series is a tale we can all relate to; a tale of greed, ambition, hopes, dreams and wanting to drive a bus.

National Education Association (2007). "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children" . Retrieved August 19, 2012. The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog! is a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. [8] Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late! is a Parenting Magazine Best Book. [9] The Pigeon Wants a Puppy! is the 2009 Children's Choice Kindergarten to Second Grade Book of the Year. [10] 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. 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. Should we punish the pigeon if he drives the bus and kills someone? If so, what should be the punishment? What about the bus driver: should he be punished? How about us, if we let the pigeon drive?Horowitz, A.; Shea, A. (December 30, 2011). "Story Time, Debunked". New York Times . Retrieved December 31, 2011. If we do let the pigeon drive the bus, are we (the people who let him drive) to blame? Would the pigeon be to blame? Why or why not? Questions for Philosophical Discussion » Summary A pigeon’s bus-driving aspirations help us to explore the responsibility to keep promises, persuasion, and the value of punishment. Randy White [he/him] (Director) was founding Artistic Director of Cardinal Stage in Bloomington, IN., where he inaugurated the “Cardinal for Kids” series. In NYC, he directed Theatreworks USA’s Max and Ruby, (off-Broadway/national tour), Glen Berger’s Underneath the Lintel, assisted on Disney’s The Lion King, etc. He has directed at many regional theaters and universities. In Chicago, Randy directed The Wizard of Oz at the Children’s Theatre of Winnetka, and Curious George and Knuffle Bunny at Northbrook Theatre. For the Greenhouse, he directed Truman and The Birth of Israel and was nominated for an Equity Jeff Award for his critically acclaimed production of Midsummer (A Play with Songs). He also directed YPT’s inaugural production of Knuffle Bunny.

Count how many times the following words are used in the story: Pigeon, bus, drive, I, vroom and just. Use these to create tally charts and other kinds of graphs.

Guidelines for Philosophical Discussion

Let’s have some fun along with the Pigeon and expand DOK along the way! This lesson will lead your primary GATE students through four challenging activities, culminating in an artistic response showing why they “never get to do anything!” either. Can you think of times when it is good to allow yourself to be convinced of something? Why is it good? What are some good and bad reasons to be convinced to let someone do something? Is feeling bad for them a good or bad reason? Is being scared of them a good or bad reason? Wow! I never would have thought that a book a pigeon just asking the audience if he can drive the bus throughout the book would be so interesting to read! Mo Willems has done an awesome job at both illustrating and writing this book about the pigeon asking everyone if he could drive the bus. What I found so interesting about this book was the fact that the only illustrations shown in this book were mainly of a blue pigeon and a bus driver in a grey and green uniform who only shows up at the beginning and end of the book, but Mo Williems did a great job at making this book extremely hilarious by giving out different expressions for the pigeon which ranges from excitement to anger. Mo Williem’s writing is extremely simple yet witty at the same time as it goes to show that you do not have to have long sentences to make a great book! What I really loved about Mo Williems’ writing is the dialogue that the Pigeon is given as it is hilarious and witty to listen to and my favorite quotes from the pigeon were, “Pigeon at the Wheel!” and “No? I never get to do anything!”