Is This the Bus for Us? by Harriet Ziefert, Richard Brown
Published by Red Comet Press on June 20, 2023
ISBN: 1636550584
Pages: 30
Genres: Realistic Fiction
Format: Picture Book Fiction
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Ziefert takes a simple concept, colors, and adds a fun and silly twist that will entertain and engage young readers. A family waits for their blue bus at the bus stop. As each bus pulls up, Leo wonders if this is their bus, but not only is it the wrong color, it also is full of passengers who provide a hint about where it’s going. The first is red and filled with animals — going to the farm. Another is green and filled with dinosaur bones — going to the museum. The book acknowledges the long wait and the patience exhibited by young Leo, and when his bus finally arrives, its parts are labeled, it’s destination is revealed, and an invitation is extended to the reader to go along to the park (perhaps a second book?). The end papers aren’t wasted as the front jump right into the story by showing the front end of an orange bus and the back encourages the reader to draw a bus and think about the buses they might take. Fans of vehicles, concepts, and fun twists will enjoy this picture book.

Reviewed by Jill O’Connor, Falmouth Middle School