Book Review of Bus! Stop! by James Yang

Everyone who knows me, knows how much I love children’s books. There’s just something about a children’s book that takes you back to your childhood. I still love reading them to my kids even though my kids are bigger now. So, whenever the opportunity to review a children’s book comes up, I jump on it. I thought the concept of Bus! Stop! by James Yang sounded fun, so I said I would review it.

Blurb:

Wait!

A boy has just missed his bus.

Good thing other buses are stopping.

But they don’t look like his bus.

And the bus riders look different too….

Should he try another bus?

Stop! Bus!

My Book Review:

I thought this book sounded so cute! Many people, including me, have had to run for a bus only to see it drive away. It’s always a stressful situation because you have to find a schedule to see when the next (correct) bus will come. You could be late for work or school, so you’re worried about that. Will the next bus be on time? How long will I need to wait? All those things run through your mind. It would be even worse as a child.

When the boy in the book misses his bus, he stays there and waits. He’s all alone (where is his mother?), and he ends up waiting. Several different buses pass, and each one looks completely different. The passengers look different too. Some of the buses look more fun than his bus does, but he keeps waiting. He waits all day. It’s now dark (again, where is his mother?), and a bus passes by that looks fun. The boy decides to take that bus, so he gets on, and away he goes!

The illustrations in Bus! Stop! are different. They’re not cutesy; they are fantastical, but also a little strange. I do like the bright colors of the illustrations, and I like the creativeness. The words are repetitive, so it does help beginning readers, but they are also quite sparse. There’s not much to read. I wish that there was a bit more to the story.

My main concern with this book is that this small boy is left alone all day long, and then he just gets on some random bus and goes. He doesn’t know where he’s going, and no one else knows where he is. I understand where the author is going. He’s saying that sometimes we need to think outside the box and try something different and fun. Maybe I’m reading too much into this, but I don’t think this context is the place to do that. Children can’t just get on random buses and explore. It’s a good lesson for a different context. This would be a good opportunity for parents to discuss rules and safety.

It is a fun book to discuss creativity, how people are unique and have different styles, and what to do if you miss your bus. I think it would also be the fun start to an art project about creative ways to get where we want to go (transportation).