[ 책 소개 ]

* Caldecott Honor 수상작
* 미국교사협회(NEA) 선정 100대 도서


눈망울이 크고 선한 푸른 비둘기의 소원은 '버스 운전하기' 입니다. 늘 커다란 버스를 운전하는 자신의 모습을 상상하는 것이 기쁨인 엉뚱한 비둘기.

하지만 첫 페이지를 넘기자마자 이 비둘기의 꿈은 무참히 깨어지고 맙니다. 버스 기사가 잠시 자리를 비우면서도 "절대로 비둘기에겐 운전을 시켜서는 안 된다"고 부탁하기 때문이지요. 빼꼼히 고개를 내밀고 덩그러니 남아 있는 버스를 먹잇감 쳐다보듯 바라보는 주인공 비둘기는 과연 버스를 운전할 수 있을까요?

TV시리즈물인 Sesame Street의 만화영화제작자인 Mo Willems가 어린이들을 위해 그린 첫번째 그림책인 는 2004년 Caldecott 상을 수상했습니다.

그림을 극도로 단순화시키면서도 눈을 사로잡는 한 가지 특징을 멋지게 조화시킨 이 책은 이미 미국에서는 어린이에서부터 성인에 이르기까지 폭발적인 반응을 얻어 베스트셀러로 자리 잡았습니다.

작가는 푸른 비둘기를 통해 동심의 세계를 사실적이면서도 유머러스하게 담고 있는데요. 버스 운전을 하고 싶은 비둘기가 온갖 핑계와 약간의 거짓말까지 동원하며 뜻을 이루려다 실패하자 회유(How about I give you five bucks? 내가 5달러 주면 어때?)와 협박(No fair! 이건 정말 불공평해!)을 하는 모습에서는 폭소를 금할 수가 없습니다.

무엇보다 이 책은 현대의 미국인들이 쓰는 생활어가 그대로 들어 있어 그들의 언어문화를 이해하는데 도움이 됩니다.

첫 페이지를 넘기면 결코 책에서 손을 떼지 못하는 모 윌렘스의 작품에 푹 빠져 보세요.






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Edition: Hardcover: 36 pages
ISBN-10: 078681988X
ISBN-13: 9780786819881
책 크기 : 23cm x 23cm



[ 영문 서평 ]

From the Publisher
When a bus driver takes a break from his route, a very unlikely volunteer springs up to take his place -- a pigeon! But you've never met one like this before. As he pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the book, children will love being able to answer back and decide his fate.
In his hilarious picture book debut, popular cartoonist Mo Willems perfectly captures a preschooler's temper tantrum.


Publisher's Weekly
The premise of this cheeky debut is charmingly absurd. When a bus driver goes on break, he asks the audience to keep an eye on his vehicle and the daft, bug-eyed pigeon who desperately wants to drive it. The pigeon then relentlessly begs readers for some time behind the wheel: "I tell you what: I'll just steer. My cousin Herb drives a bus almost every day! True story." Willems hooks his audience quickly with the pigeon-to-reader approach and minimalist cartoons. The bluish-gray bird, outlined in black crayon, expresses countless, amusing emotions through tiny shifts in eye movement or wing position. The plucky star peeks in from the left side of a page, and exhibits an array of pleading strategies against window-pane panels in mauve, salmon and willow ("I'll be your best friend," he says wide-eyed in one, and whispers behind a wing, "How 'bout I give you five bucks?"). Finally he erupts in a full-spread tantrum on an orange background, the text outlined in electric yellow ("Let me drive the bus!!!"). When the driver returns and takes off, the bird slumps dejectedly until a big red truck inspires a new round of motoring fantasies. Readers will likely find satisfaction in this whimsical show of emotions and, perhaps, a bit of self-recognition.


Children's Literature
In this picture book with simple pictures and lots of empty space, a cute blue pigeon begs the reader to let him drive the bus while the bus driver is gone. He implores, promises, whines, begs, bribes (like I don't get enough of this from my kids) in order to get his chance. He says things like, "I bet your mom would let me" or "I have dreams you know." This could actually be a sad book (hey, I was always the kid who wanted the Trix rabbit to actually get some Trix) except for the last two pages. After the bus drives off leaving the pigeon looking dejected, a semi drives up, the pigeon looks at it, and says, "Hey..., and the end papers of the book have the pigeon smiling, eyes closed as he envisions himself driving a semi.


School Library Journal
A brilliantly simple book that is absolutely true to life, as anyone who interacts with an obdurate three-year-old can attest. The bus driver has to leave for a while, and he makes one request of readers: "Don't let the pigeon drive the bus." It's the height of common sense, but the driver clearly knows this determined pigeon and readers do not-yet. "Hey, can I drive the bus?" asks the bird, at first all sweet reason, and then, having clearly been told no by readers, he begins his ever-escalating, increasingly silly bargaining. "I tell you what: I'll just steer," and "I never get to do anything," then "No fair! I bet your mom would let me." In a wonderfully expressive spread, the pigeon finally loses it, and, feathers flying and eyeballs popping, screams "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!" in huge, scratchy, black-and-yellow capital letters. The driver returns, and the pigeon leaves in a funk-until he spies a huge tractor trailer, and dares to dream again. Like David Shannon's No, David (Scholastic, 1998), Pigeon is an unflinching and hilarious look at a child's potential for mischief. In a plain palette, with childishly elemental line drawings, Willems has captured the essence of unreasonableness in the very young. The genius of this book is that the very young will actually recognize themselves in it.


Kirkus Reviews
This cinematic adventure, with its simple retro-cartoonish drawings, begins on the opening endpapers when a pale blue pigeon dreams of driving a bus. On the title page, the profile of the strong-jawed bus driver notes in a word bubble that he has to leave for a little while and requests that the reader watch things for him. "Oh and remember: "Don't let the Pigeon Drive the Bus." The text is a handwritten, typewriter-like hand in white word bubbles set on a background of neutral tones of lavender, salmon, celadon, and beige. With the bus in the reader--care, the bus driver nonchalantly strolls away. Turn the page and readers see a close-up of the pigeon, who spends the next 13 well-paced pages begging, pleading, lying, and bribing his way into their hearts. The words "LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!!" triple in size and leap from the page as the pigeon loses control, flopping across the bottom of the pages. Readers of all ages will nod with recognition of his helplessness and frustration. The bus driver returns, thanks the readers, and drives away, leaving the pigeon with his head hanging in sadness. And just like any young person, he's quickly distracted from his disappointment when a huge truck tire zooms into view. In the end, the pigeon dreams of driving the big red tractor-trailer truck. A first picture book by an Emmy Award winning writer and animator, listeners will be begging, pleading, lying, and bribing to hear it again and again.