School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Sure, he couldn't drive the bus, but will he have more success with a hot dog? The pigeon is back in this animated version of the book (Hyperion, 2004) by Mo Willems. In a twist, the hot dog is knocked from the end-papers by the bus driver from Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus (Hyperion, 2003; Weston Woods, 2009). Then the pigeon discovers it. What rapture! What bliss! What's that small voice? Yes, it's a duckling with many questions about hot dogs. The pigeon is caught between avarice and guilt, but settles on sharing. This hilarious yet simple story is done up in a splendiferous and rollicking fashion with simple yet fun animation and background colors and music that reflect every change in the pigeon's mood. The pigeon is enthusiastically voiced by Willems, while the duckling's part is performed by his daughter Trixie. A nice bonus is a 13-minute "Behind the Scenes" segment with Pete List, the director and animator, who explains the process of making an animated film. Students involved in their own short animation projects will find this a valuable resource. Subtitles are optional. This production will tickle viewers both young and old.-Teresa Bateman, Brigadoon Elementary School, Federal Way, WA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
In Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!, the hero was subordinate to an unseen person who withheld bus-driving permission; here he has the dominant role and must placate his own pesky interloper, as he bargains with a duckling over a discarded hot dog. The tale, conveyed in the same pleasing emotive dialogue and gestures, opens with the pigeon's thrilled discovery of the title snack: "Oooooh! A hot dog!/ Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!" Suddenly, a smaller yellow bird enters from the lower right corner and asks, in rounded lower-case letters, "Is that a `hot dog'?" "Not a hot dog; my hot dog," the pigeon sniffs, but his reply gives the duckling a rhetorical advantage. "What do they taste like?" it wonders aloud. The pigeon knows the duckling's disingenuous game, but his suspicious, hooded eyes and frowning beak suggest uncertainty. The trickster, meanwhile, regards the pigeon through flirtatious blue eyes and coyly tilts its teardrop shaped beak. The pigeon glares at the audience ("Can you believe this guy!?!"), shouts "That's it!" in bold two-inch-tall caps and throws an eight-stage temper tantrum before splitting the wiener in half. "Hmmmm, needs mustard," says the duck. Through voice bubbles, body language, and expressive sizes and shapes of type, Willems crafts a comical give-and-take between the characters. He sketches both iconic birds in decisive crayony lines and tints the pages with smooth pastel hues. Readers of all ages won't be able to resist miming the sly conversation in this satisfying sequel. Ages 2-6. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
