Review by Booklist Review
With back-to-school days looming, the team behind The Little Dump Truck (2009) present this relentlessly cheery offering about an anthropomorphized school bus. Along with Driver Bob, the little school bus wakes up at five a.m., collects children around town, has a day off for snow, and gets a tune-up. Most important, the little school bus is a satisfied worker: I love my job HOORAY! It's a colorful neighborhood through which Driver Bob and the little school bus travel before delivering a diverse group of students to Friends School, where a principal (who looks a bit like Elvis) greets them at the door. The story is full of verbs rumbling, shifting, clunking, waking, bouncing, braking, picking up, dropping off all of which emphasize contented busyness. There is a Fisher-Price aesthetic to Kolar's digital illustrations, utilizing solid primary colors and squarely rounded figures against clean white space. Children preparing to ride a bus for the first time will be reassured to see so many happy people involved in the process.--Dean, Kara Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Through a simple rhyming text, a little school bus details a typical day of work, beginning with driver Bob climbing on board with a cup of coffee at 5:00 a.m. and ending with a tune-up and scrub down at the maintenance garage. In between, it drives through town, "bouncing, turning, thumping,/always on the go," to pick up a variety of smiling children, including Kate, who uses a wheelchair. The text lends itself well to reading aloud, and the blocky digital illustrations are bright and clear. This book will be a big hit with vehicle-loving preschoolers and is also an excellent selection to use with groups preparing to start kindergarten. A must-have for general purchase, especially in collections in which Cuyler's The Little Dump Truck (Holt, 2009) is already a favorite.-Martha Link Yesowitch, Charlotte Mecklenburg Library, NC (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
I'm a little school bus, / my driver's name is Bob. / Rumbling, shifting, clunking, / we like to do our job." In The Little Dump Truck's follow-up, a school bus describes its job, including lowering a platform for a wheelchair and enjoying a snow day. The rhymes offer a steady ride, and the digital art features attractively boxy images. (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Rhyming verses stretch out the job of a school bus to 12 spreads.Driving down the road, picking up kids and dropping them off, visiting the mechanic, operating the wheelchair platform and going around a bend are a few of the things the yellow vehicle does in the job it so obviously loves, as evidenced by its smiling bumper, cheerful eyes and pink cheeksall vehicle parts. Each verse starts with "I'm a little school bus," so readers (especially those reading aloud) will be hard-pressed not to try to force the rhymes into the tune for "I'm a Little Teapot." Some work better than others, both at fitting the tune and scanning well. "I'm a little school bus / waiting by the walk. / Boys and girls climb on, / sit and laugh and talk." Kolar's digital illustrations are cartoon-bright, the people are nicely diverse, and there's not a grumpy face to be found. Oddly, the creators choose not to focus on a single day; the illustrations go from skirt- and shorts-clad children to a snow day and back to T-shirts in just three spreads. There's not much on bus safety (save lining up to get on and don't put your hands out the windows), and the pictures never show the inside of the bus.While it's cute and will help to complete vehicle lovers' collections, this package doesn't do much to address school fears or preparedness in the preschool audience it appears to be aimed at. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
