WE LIVE IN A BUS

A child chronicles a family’s adventures over the course of a year as they journey in their converted bus.

The bus, named Gracie Joy Rufus Bean, is treated as a character, with her features and routines described in loving detail. Each morning, Mom, Dad, little Suzy, and the young nameless narrator prepare for a day on the road, rolling up Gracie Joy Rufus Bean’s awning and cleaning her solar panels. As they drive, they notice lizards and birds and stop to explore small towns and swimming holes. The book exudes a strong sense of community as the family learns, plays, and gets help from friendly people along the way. Petzold’s writing is lyrical and sensory, sprinkled with the sounds of calling birds, crackling campfires, and honking horns. In this quiet, slice-of-life story, it’s the art that propels the page turns, thoughtfully shifting perspective by zooming in on crawling caterpillars, pulling back to create a sense of awe under tree canopies and starry nights, guiding the eye down into gorges and up to red-tailed hawks. The rustic illustrations complement the family’s laid-back, nature-forward lifestyle. The experience of bus living is heavily romanticized, with the only difficulty (a flat tire) quickly resolved while the children frolic in a sunflower field. Safety-conscious parents and teachers may note that the narrator sometimes rides in front and both children ride without car seats. The family members are depicted in varying shades of tan or brown.

An idyllic slice of traveling life.