An amusing riff on an old favorite that’ll please many little ones.
The wheel on the bus goes bust.
A red bus filled with all sorts of anthropomorphic animals is chugging along when suddenly: “BANG! Uh-oh!” One of the tires has been punctured, stopping the bus in its tracks. “The driver on the bus says, ‘Off, off, off,’ ” and “the handywoman’s wrench goes click, clack, click” as the text continues in tune with the famous song and the animals figure out what to do with a broken bus. Little readers familiar with the “Wheels on the Bus” will love this new spin on the standard, and caregivers will certainly appreciate a variation on a song they’ve sung more times than they can count. The illustrations are drawn and colored with simplicity, presenting the series of events as plainly as possible in double-page spreads that pull back wide for full view of vehicles and some of the bus’s larger patrons. The animals are a diverse lot, and Willmore has fun with the license granted by the decision to clothe them, painting purple bears and bunnies, a pink hippo, and a blue elephant. The handywoman with her wrench is an extra nice touch, but it’s too bad she doesn’t actually fix that flat.
An amusing riff on an old favorite that’ll please many little ones. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8075-8869-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted.
A cast of critters as impatient as they are colorful yearn for frozen treats.
In a neighborhood occupied by sweet-toothed beasties, the ice cream truck reigns supreme, but a lengthy roster of vehicles must first pass through this animal kingdom—a dump truck, mail truck, and fire truck, to name just a few. Trucks putter through town to onlookers’ delight and disappointment, and spectators bid each one farewell and wish it good luck—all the while dreaming of the delectable goodies to come. Eagle-eyed readers will know when to expect the ice cream truck’s advent, cleverly foreshadowed in the book’s opening spread. While Runyan’s work is pleasing in its simplicity, with characters rendered in bright watercolors and their homes and greenery depicted in appealing collages, Fairbank’s story drags on a shade too long. Though transportation-loving tots will eagerly exclaim over the various vehicles, others will grow frustrated waiting for the titular truck to arrive. Those seeking to incorporate the book into a storytime may want to practice reading this one aloud first, as some of the verses feel a bit clunky.
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780062842114
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
A thought-provoking tale of growth and change.
The Pumphrey brothers bring their now-signature style to this tale of an old sleigh that, like the vehicles in The Old Truck (2020) and The Old Boat (2021) before it, works hard in a changing world.
As the story opens, readers see a Black-presenting child and parent chopping firewood and loading it into a horse-drawn sleigh against a snowy landscape. “In a small town,” we learn, “an old sleigh gave all it took.” Parent and child deliver the firewood throughout the town, making it “merry and bright.” But the small town grows bigger, and the old sleigh’s wooden body begins to break down. The industrious child turns some of its planks into a new sled and uses it to deliver smaller loads of firewood. In the final pages, readers see that the child’s parent has repaired the old sleigh, which the child, older now, uses to deliver firewood in the “small city” that has sprung up. Some readers may be left with questions: Is the figure driving the sleigh at book’s close the child, now all grown up? And can a city really spring up that fast? On the whole, though, the narrative beguiles as sleigh and sled haul their loads from verso to recto across each scene. The community’s buildings stand out against the snow in reds, greens, and mustards, and the simple and rhythmic text charms.
A thought-provoking tale of growth and change. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: Nov. 4, 2025
ISBN: 9781324054122
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Norton Young Readers
Review Posted Online: Aug. 2, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2025
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