Starred Review ALA Booklist (Wed May 01 00:00:00 CDT 2019)

Starred Review In this latest series installment, it's time for Pigeon to start attending school. However, he has absolutely no intention of going. He doesn't do mornings, and he already knows everything, including how to "spel." His stance, wings on his little birdie hips, shows his determination to avoid what he considers unnecessary and a waste of his time. But as he goes through a litany of "what-ifs," his anxiety begins to show through his stubbornness. While addressing his laundry list of concerns, he slowly begins to understand that school just might be helpful when it comes to learning about things like the alphabet, finger painting, and reading. Each page offers backgrounds in subdued colors of tan, purple, gray, pink, orange, and green, with our ever-dramatic pale blue Pigeon front and center, the text transmitted entirely through his dialogue bubbles. The ending is spot-on, as Pigeon spots something big, something bright, and something yellow, and his excitement skyrockets. Children on their way to kindergarten may recognize themselves in Pigeon's story and take heart at his (eventual) enthusiasm. The introductory endpapers show an empty classroom, and the concluding ones reveal who Pigeon's classmates will be. A few of them will even be easily recognized by children familiar with this author-illustrator . . . and who isn't?HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Pigeon's been winning hearts since he first appeared with that bus, and best-selling, multi-multi-award-winning Willems is irresistible to kids and grown-ups alike.

Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

All the typical worries and excuses kids have about school are filtered through Willems' hysterical, bus-loving Pigeon.Told mostly in speech balloons, the bird's monologue will have kids (and their caregivers) in stitches at Pigeon's excuses. From already knowing everything (except whatever question readers choose to provide in response to "Go ahead—ask me a question. / Any question!") to fearing learning too much ("My head might pop off"), Pigeon's imagination has run wild. Readers familiar with Pigeon will recognize the muted, matte backgrounds that show off the bird's shenanigans so well. As in previous outings, Willems varies the size of the pigeon on the page to help communicate emotion, the bird teeny small on the double-page spread that illustrates the confession that "I'm… / scared." And Pigeon's eight-box rant about all the perils of school ("The unknown stresses me out, dude") is marvelously followed by the realization (complete with lightbulb thought bubble) that school is the place for students to practice, with experts, all those skills they don't yet have. But it is the ending that is so Willems, so Pigeon, and so perfect. Pigeon's last question is "Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!" Readers will readily guess both the answer and Pigeon's reaction.Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way. (Picture book. 3-6)

Horn Book

Willems's pugnacious pigeon is unsurprisingly unexcited about starting school. In direct-address text, the pigeon imagines worst-case scenarios, from the ridiculous ("What if I learn too much!?! My head might pop off") to the realistic ("What will the other birds think of me?"). Many children facing this milestone will relate to the pigeon's apprehension, though his histrionics are clearly demonstrated as such in both over-the-top text and restrained-until-they're-not illustrations.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

All the typical worries and excuses kids have about school are filtered through Willems' hysterical, bus-loving Pigeon.Told mostly in speech balloons, the bird's monologue will have kids (and their caregivers) in stitches at Pigeon's excuses. From already knowing everything (except whatever question readers choose to provide in response to "Go ahead—ask me a question. / Any question!") to fearing learning too much ("My head might pop off"), Pigeon's imagination has run wild. Readers familiar with Pigeon will recognize the muted, matte backgrounds that show off the bird's shenanigans so well. As in previous outings, Willems varies the size of the pigeon on the page to help communicate emotion, the bird teeny small on the double-page spread that illustrates the confession that "I'm… / scared." And Pigeon's eight-box rant about all the perils of school ("The unknown stresses me out, dude") is marvelously followed by the realization (complete with lightbulb thought bubble) that school is the place for students to practice, with experts, all those skills they don't yet have. But it is the ending that is so Willems, so Pigeon, and so perfect. Pigeon's last question is "Well, HOW am I supposed to get there, anyway!?!" Readers will readily guess both the answer and Pigeon's reaction.Yes, the Pigeon has to go to school, and so do readers, and this book will surely ease the way. (Picture book. 3-6)