Bus stop

School day turns to snow day in a picture book that's both appellative abecedarian and ebullient celebration of frosty weather. From Antoine to Zoey, a cast of bundled-up children of varying abilities and skin tones arrive at a bus stop to await transport: "Sleepy street./ Still./ Gray./ Empty bus stop./ School day." Alliterative verbs pair with initial student names; portrayed with pigtail puffs and blue glasses, one brown-skinned child reads on a bench ("Beatrice burrows"), while a brown-skinned youth who uses a wheelchair catches snowflakes nearby ("Carlos catches"). Later name-verb constructs play with rhyme ("Hannah stomps./ Isaiah romps") or simple verb consonance ("Joelle waltzes/ Kartik wonders") as all the while the bus remains absent. Hinting visually at The Snowy Day, Watkins's spare mixed-media illustrations capture the children's evident glee as snowflakes fill the air and smudgy white paints the sidewalks. The playful moments work hand-in-hand with Dale's energetic poetry as the book builds to the expected but no less jubilant explanation for the missing bus. Ages 4--8. (Oct.)

A school day turns into a surprise. Early in the morning, as a group of diverse children gather to wait for their school bus, a small scattering of snowflakes begin to fall. The children, who arrive in alphabetical order by name, each have a different morning preoccupation: "Beatrice burrows" (in a book). "Carlos catches" (snowflakes). "Divya drifts" (back to sleep). Although the alliteration doesn't continue throughout the book, each new child's activity offers room for educators and caregivers to pause for discussion. "Hannah stomps. Isaiah romps" is an ideal place to ponder the difference between a stomp and a romp. The sentences are brief, but they pack a powerful punch when it comes to vocabulary-building. Many of the children are reproduced in a double-page final spread that allows readers to play a seek-and-find game as the characters romp through a now-snowy scene. Backgrounds have the appearance of a child's drawing, with buildings that look as though they were scrawled in black marker. Together, the text and illustrations create an energetic and idealized urban landscape that readers would love to visit, especially when the reason why the bus isn't showing up is revealed: It's a snow day! Young fans of Ezra Jack Keats' The Snowy Day (1962) will find this an enjoyable companion book, and this title will likely see heavy rotation in libraries during the colder months of the year. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Simple, snowy fun with a vocabulary-building boost. (Picture book. 4-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.