EK kids talk pigeon. PK kids talk turkey.

The EK kids extended the Mo Willems conversation started by the PK and CPG children last week.

Brooke B. discussed Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!: I liked it because, "Hi! I'm the bus driver. I'm leaving for a little bit, but don't let the pigeon drive the bus." I liked it when the pigeon said, "I thought he'd never leave." When he said, "Can I drive the bus?" "No!" "Please?" What did all that say again? [Brooke is looking at the double page spread in which the pigeon pleads, whines and lists several reasons why he should be able to drive the bus.] The bus driver came back before he could get a chance to drive the bus. The pigeon said, "Hey!" And then he was thinking about driving the truck.

Bella discussed The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!: I like how the duckling marched onto the page. I like how the pigeon was getting mad. He was just being goofy. The duckling was just asking that he wants to have a hot dog. I like how he was writing down all the stuff. I like how the pigeon just yelled at the duckling. Look. There's two words. The duckling was just laying.

Leah discussed The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!:  The pigeon wanted a puppy. And do you know what was the funniest part? The puppy page because he was afraid. He said, "I want a walrus!" That was so funny! And you know what? Some of the pages are funny. And you know what? He was scared and he jumped out of the page. That was the funniest. I laughed at that part!

Brooke N. discussed The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!:  He said, "I want a puppy! I will feed him one thing of water." What does this say again? He wanted a puppy. He heard barking and then he freaked out and he jumped out of the page because the dog was huge. And then he wanted a walrus.

Hayden discussed The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!:  You know I love hot dogs! And look! A little chick is peeking out at the hot dog. He found a hot dog and he jumped out of up there and then he flapped his feathers and he's so glad to have a hot dog. And then he hold the hot dog and he flapped his feathers and he can't wait to eat it. Then the pigeon got so mad because the chickie wanted the hot dog and he didn't know what kind it is. He don't know what a hot dog is for. The duck wrote HOT DOG, CHICK PET, and BIG DOGGY on his list. The chick had an idea. The chick said to the goose, "Let's share that hot dog!" And he thought, "This is my hot dog!" And on the next page, on the back of it says, "Split it!" The goose holds the hot dog up in the air and the chick can't get it. Then they split it and then the goose and the chick really like the hot dog. He thought he didn't like a hot dog, and he did! He loved the hot dog!

Allison discussed Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!:  The pigeon couldn't drive the bus. The bus stop man walked away. I'm done.

Annalee discussed The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!:  He found a puppy at the end. It scared him. He wanted a hippopotamus.

Sophie discussed The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!:  The pigeon is so excited. He found a hot dog, but he didn't want to share it. He screamed and shouted and he saw a duckling and he didn't want the duckling to eat it all so in the end he gave the duckling a part of the hot dog. The duck said it needed a little mustard. That is funny!

Brady K. discussed Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus!: When the bus driver walked away the pigeon was sneaking into the bus. He said, "I thought he'd never leave." He wants to drive the bus. He can't drive the bus. He's thinking about driving the truck.

Dev discussed The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!: The pigeon wanted to get a puppy. He was hiding from the puppy. He changed his mind. He wanted these. [Points to walrus crate on endpapers.]

Daniel discussed The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!: The pigeon and the duckling. I think the duckling's really cute. The duckling was being mean of bugging about the hot dog. The pigeon didn't want to say anything, so he had black stuff above his head. This page was kind of silly. I don't know what those letters say. That's an A and that's an S. The duckling thought about splitting the hot dog, and he said, "Hmmm. This needs mustard." The hot dog needed mustard. And on this [endpapers] one there was a bunches of full hot dogs and one split in half.

Keegan discussed The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!: That's ridiculous! Somebody dropped a hot dog and it's probably dirty. He must be one dumb pigeon. The duckling was trying to take it. It wanted to steal the hot dog 'cause he wanted to steal it. It's dirty! That's it.

John discussed The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog!: The pigeon went flap, flap, flap and said, "Oooooh! A hot dog!" And I like that he said, "Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!" The pigeon didn't want to share his hot dog with the little duckling. The duckling wanted the hot dog. And the pigeon didn't want him to have the hot dog. And the pigeon was relaxing and going to eat the hot dog. He got really mad because the duckling was annoying him. The duckling said, "Does it taste like chicken?" And I like when the pigeon said, "Can you believe this guy!?!" And then he said, "It just tastes like a hot dog, okay?" And I like when he said, "Finders keepers, that's what I say! What does a hot dog even taste like? Blah, blah, blah." The little duckling said, "I have an idea." They they splitted the hot dog.

Arthur discussed The Pigeon Wants a Puppy!: My favorite was when he said, "The slobber and the teeth and the claws and the wet nose."

PK kids discussed This is the Turkey written by Abby Levine and illustrated by Paige Billin-Frye.

Kaitlyn: The turkey went flying. It landed in the fish tank. They ate other stuff. They made pumpkin pie.

Katherine: I like the part when Max picked out the turkey. I like the part when the sister was making bread. I like the part when the Grandma when she bringed the beans. I like the cousins and the cookies and the brownies. I like the part when she tripped over the little boy and I like when the turkey went flying. And I like the part when it fell in the fish bowl. I like when Grandma came back. And I like when Grandpa said, "I'm hungry. Let's eat!" I like the part when they all sat down.

Mikayla: The cat jumped over there because the water splashed. The turkey got wet.

Emelyn: They throwed the chicken in a fish tank. They got fish poop on it. They don't like fish poop. They ate everything else.

Brady L.: The family came. The girl tripped over a boy and then the turkey went in a fish pond.

Emmett: I want to tell you the silly part. The mom tripped over the kid and the kid tripped over the car. The turkey went flying. It landed in a fish bowl. And look! A fish is flying!

Mack: The sister tripped over the little brother. The turkey fell in the fish tank. They had plenty more to eat. And then all of the customers leave and they had a happy Thanksgiving Day.

Camryn: The chicken just falled into the fish tank 'cause the lady just tripped over Max. That was funny!

Christel: The turkey fell in the fish tank. The sister dropped it and tripped over the boy. They had all the other stuff. It was salad, famous green beans, cranberry sauce, bread, pumpkin pie, and maybe some squash, I guess. They played games, looked at family in pictures, and the fishies were all back in their safe home. They had a good time. And then all of them went to the door and the boy was the one that said, "I think we had the best Thanksgiving ever!"

Acadia: I can't know what the story telled. I liked it, but I can't know what it says. [Acadia picked out her favorite page. It was the one in which the turkey went flying into the fish tank. Who'd a thunk?]

Summer: The turkey went in the fish bowl. They couldn't eat it. They ate salad. They ate green beans. They looked at pictures. And that one still's eating dinner!

Eva: She tripped on the child. "Yikes!" The turkey fell in the fish tank. They had lots of vegetables and no turkey. They look happy. Even Max, like my brother Max! That one's sleeping on the couch. You're not supposed to sleep on the couch! You're supposed to sleep in bed. Here's the fish tank. Hey, I don't see any turkey in the fish tank anymore. Maybe they threw it in the trashcan. He's blowing on the coffee. You're not supposed to blow on the coffee! And these two are playing a game. And those two are looking at the family pictures. Hey. They're coming in here. Everybody left to go home. Max said, "This is the best Thanksgiving that is sold out!"

What Did He Say There??

Typically when I sit down to write this blog with a student, I'll ask the child to tell me what happened in the book. If that doesn't elicit much of a response, I'll ask the child to talk about his or her favorite part. Either way, the child will usually leaf through the book, sometimes talking about each page, sometimes choosing a favorite illustration to discuss.

His or her commentary is usually driven by the illustrations, which presented a bit of a dilemma when we discussed the pigeon books. You see, there's not a lot of action or change of scene in the pigeon stories. With a few exceptions, most of the pigeon-book illustrations depict the pigeon standing in a scene devoid of scenery and other characters. It's just a pigeon on a blank page. Granted, the pigeon is emoting all over the place, but a child has to be able to "read" the pigeon's body language and facial expressions in order to "get" what's going on in the story. That's a pretty tall order for 3 and 4-year olds with only one or two readings of the story under their little belts.

When we sat down to write the blog, the kids looked through the pigeon books, asking over and over, "What did he say there?" Without the visual cues more detailed illustrations typically provide, many of the children simply did not know how to go about retelling the story. They could all pretty much get the set-up for the story, and the final resolution, but what happened in between was a bit of a muddle for many. I found it interesting to hear the responses to the pigeon stories, and I hope you find those responses just as interesting to read. (I think you'll be able to determine which children have these books in their own libraries.)

Last week, the Prekindergarten children read the following Mo Willems books: my copy of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, John and Arthur's copies of The Pigeon Wants a Puppy and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog, and Katherine's copies of Knuffle Bunny: A Cautionary Tale, Knuffle Bunny Too: A Case of Mistaken Identity and Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct. The PK kids voted for their favorite Mo Willems book, and The Pigeon Wants a Puppy was the winner with 6 out of 14 votes. Many thanks to Katherine, John and Arthur for sharing their Mo Willems books with us!

PREKINDERGARTEN RESPONSES

Kaitlyn talked about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: They're all my favorites so it's a hard decision. I'll talk about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. It was a good book.  I liked the first page. The bus driver had to go out for a little while and he said, "Can you watch things for me? Doo, doo, doo, doo, doo." He walked away. "I thought he'd never leave," the pigeon said. "Hey, can I drive the bus? Please? I'll be careful. I tell you what: I'll just drive." What's his cousin again? I forget that one. [Me: Herb.] "My cousin Herb drives the bus almost every day. True story. Vroom-vroom! Pigeon at the wheel." He was going to drive the bus, but he couldn't. "But, I'll be your best friend. I'll give you 20 bucks. No fair! I never get to do what I want! Please? Double please? LET ME DRIVE THE BUS!!! Hi, I'm back! You didn't let the pigeon drive the bus, did you? Oh, no! Bye! Hey . . ." That was a funny part. It was a good book!

Katherine talked about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: I like the part with the endpapers where the pigeon is thinking about driving the bus. I like when he's peeking out right there. I like he was walking to see he was going to drive the bus. I like when he was telling his friends he wanted to drive the bus. I like the part when his friend told him not to drive the bus. I like the part when he ran and his friend didn't like the pigeon to drive the bus. I like the part when he was look what else he could drive. I like the part when he said he would give him twenty dollars. And I like the part when the driver came back and said, "I hope you didn't let the pigeon drive the bus." I like the part when he drived away and the pigeon was real sad. And then I like the part when he saw the big truck. I like the part when he was thinking about he could drive the truck.
 
Mack talked about Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct: I like the endpapers because the cookies. There was one kid that didn't like her and then they were in the class and then this page came next and the teacher said she might make cookies now and then he left out in the class and then the page with Edwina again. And then he went out of school and brushed his teeth and went to bed. And then this page when he handed out the paper. And on this page he was sad and sat down and cried. And then Edwina came and he brought her to school, and then this page, and then this page is where she didn't care and it was the part where he didn't care either and then she made chocolate chip cookies for him and then the same endpapers.

Emmett talked about Knuffle Bunny: I like the page with "Aggle, kaflaggle, snurf!" He got in the washing machine and her dad couldn't find him.

Emelyn talked about Knuffle Bunny:  I like there 'cause these guys went over there that baby noticed that he didn't see Snuffle Bunny. He forgot that he put the Snuffle Bunny in the washing machine. He wanted to go back and get it.

Camryn talked about Knuffle Bunny Too: That girl's mean. She had a Knuffle Bunny, too. The teacher took the Knuffle Bunnies away 'cause they took it away from someone. They returned them. She had the wrong one. She woke up and that wasn't her Knuffle Bunny. She marches in Mama and Daddy's room. She said, "That's not my bunny!" They had to call them. They had to run in their jammas outside. Now they got back together again. Now they're back where they belong. They're hugging with their Knuffle Bunnies.

Brady L. talked about Knuffle Bunny: They were going to wash the jeans. And then he got to put the money in then they walked home. Then he forgot his bunny. Then he started to cry. And then he said, "No!" He's crying. Mommy said, "Where's Bunny?" Then they go back to the washing machine. Then they find him.

Acadia talked about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus:  The pigeon wants to drive the bus. I liked that part. I'm finished.

Summer talked about Knuffle Bunny Too:  I like the girl Knuffle Bunny. [Summer, as did Brady L. and several other kids, thought the original Knuffle Bunny story featured a boy character, which it does not. The main character is a nearly bald baby girl. Knuffle Bunny Too takes place a few years later, and the baby character is now a preschooler and very obviously female, which is why Summer declared that she liked "the girl Knuffle Bunny."]  They had the wrong one. He had to switch in the night.

Christel talked about The Pigeon Wants a Puppy: The pigeon said, "I want to drive a bus. I want a hot dog. I want a puppy." He got scared and surprised when the puppy came.  And he wanted to lick him. He was scared. "I want a walrus!"

Mikayala liked Knuffle Bunny best.

Eva talked about Edwina: The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct: She was extinct. She ran out of the building. The boy went out. [Eva spotted Knuffle Bunny in an illustration.] Hey! Knuffle Bunny!  And look at this part. The boy doesn't like Edwina because she is extinct. He didn't like her, and then he did like her.

John talked about The Pigeon Wants a Puppy:  He's going to play tennis with it, and he's going to have a piggyback ride on the puppy. And I liked when he said, "Puppy! Puppy! Puppy!" And I liked when he said, "A puppy!" And I liked when he said he wanted a puppy at least since last Tuesday. And I liked when he said, "Oh, I got it. You don't want me to be happy, do you?" And I liked when he said, "I'm a puppy-lovin' pigeon!" And I liked when he said, "You just don't get it." And I liked when he said, "Puppies!" And I liked when he said, "I WANT A PUPPY! HERE RIGHT NOW!" And the puppy said, "Woof!" And he said, "What was that?" And the puppy went, "Woof! Woof!" And I liked when he said, "Have my dreams finally come true?" And I like when he said, "The teeth! The claws! I mentioned the teeth, right? Really, I had no idea!" I liked it because he was afraid of the puppy. And I like when he said, "I change my mind." I like when he said, "I want a walrus." That was the silliest page I thought it was on.

Arthur talked about The Pigeon Wants a Puppy: The pigeon wants a hot dog, but that's not my favorite part. My favorite part was he said, "Aaaaaagghh!!!' because the dog was big. He said, "The slobber. The teeth. And did I mention the claws?"  He said, "I want a walrus!" It will be much bigger than the puppy! 

The Creative Play Group children read my copy of Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus and Arthur and John's copies of The Pigeon Wants a Puppy and The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog.

CREATIVE PLAY GROUP RESPONSES:

Olivia talked about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: The pigeon said, "I want to drive the bus." Then he wanted to drive the big truck. That's so funny! That was so funny!

Alec talked about The Pigeon Wants a Puppy:  The pigeon wants a puppy. He screamed. [When the puppy came.] It was funny!

J.J. talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: The little ducky -- I liked that! And the hot dog! He [the pigeon] was surprised because he saw a hot dog. And I liked because the ducky came. I liked the new, little character.

Aiden R.: talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: He's keeping his hot dog. He doesn't want his duck to get it because he wants it so much. [Turns to last illustration.] The pigeon's sharing!

Lindsey liked The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog.

Aria talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: He found a hot dog. He said, "Oh, my! Oh, my! I found a hot dog!" The duck said, "Can I have a bite of your hot dog?"  The pigeon said, "It's my dog!"  The little duck keeped talking to him. The pigeon said, "It's my hot dog!" [Looks at last illustration.] He shared it.

Ryan talked about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus: He said, "I want! I want! Please, please!" He couldn't drive it because he's not allowed to. He said, "I don't care! I'll do it right now!" [When the driver came back he said,] "Aw! Thanks for watching him! Bye-bye!" At the end the pigeon decided to drive a truck.

Brady D. talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog:  He didn't share his hot dog with a little duck. Then they shared.

Teagan talked about Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus:  Uh-oh! The pigeon's in a bus! Don't let the pigeon drive the bus! There he is, sneaking in the bus. There he is, looking at the bus. [Flips to last illustration.] He's dreaming about a truck.

Maeve talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: He ate the hot dog from the duck. The duck wanted a hot dog with him. He wanted to share with him. They split it.

Aiden C. talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: The duck wanted the hot dog when the bird ate the hot dog. The bird shared it.

John talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog: I liked it when the pigeon said, "Aaaaaaahhh..." And I liked when he went flap, flap, flap.  I like when he said, "A hot dog!" And I like when he said, "Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!" And I like when the little duckling went, "Squeek, squeek, squeek," into the page. And I like when he said, "Who are you?" The pigeon wanted his hot dog all to himself and the duckling wanted to know what it tastes like. I like when the little duckling was writing down everything. And I like when the little duckling said, "What does it taste like?"  "Not A hot dog, MY hot dog." That's what the pigeon said that I liked. And I like because he said, "What does it taste like? Is it chicken?" I like because at the end cover of the book one hot dog been aten.

Arthur talked about The Pigeon Finds a Hot Dog:  My favorite part was when he saw a  hot dog. And mine other part when he flapped, flapped, flapped and when he holded the hot dog and my other favorite part was the little duckling peeking out of the page and when he walked, walked, walked so fast. The duckling said, "Is that a hot dog?" That was my favorite part. The pigeon is holding the hot dog and the duckling is writing everything down. My favorite part is he's holding the hot dog and he's mad. And the other holding the hot dog and another holding the hot dog and the duckling said, "Enjoy!" And mine other favorite part when he said, "Does the hot dog taste like chicken?" And my other favorite part when the pigeon said, "Could you believe this guy!?!" And my other favorite part was he was tapping his foot. And when he was so mad. And he was thinking dark and when he put his hand on his head and when the bird was flying. And when he was very mad and my other favorite part was when the duckling fell down on his head. And when he said, "I have a idea!" And when they split the hot dog. And my last favorite part was when I saw this -- the hot dog was broken apart on the end papers. [When Arthur speaks of "thinking dark" he's referring to the wordless double-page spread pictured above. While we were reading the story, one of the children wanted to know what the "scribbles" above the pigeon's head meant. I said that maybe the pigeon was thinking dark thoughts.]

EK CHILDREN will add their 2 cents next week.