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A Bus Called Heaven
by
Bob Graham
Could a broken-down bus really bring a whole city neighborhood together? Could it all start with a small girl named Stella?
One morning in front of Stella's house, an abandoned bus appears, looking sad as a whale on a beach. On its front, held up with packing tape, is a hand-painted sign that says Heaven. Right away, the bus brings change to Stella's street when people stop...more
One morning in front of Stella's house, an abandoned bus appears, looking sad as a whale on a beach. On its front, held up with packing tape, is a hand-painted sign that says Heaven. Right away, the bus brings change to Stella's street when people stop...more
Hardcover, 40 pages
Published
March 13th 2012
by Candlewick
(first published October 1st 2011)
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Community Reviews
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1-30
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257)
Nov 15, 2012
Ashley
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
kids-picture-books,
shelf-of-disappointment
Having heard that Bob Graham was like Australia's Robert Munsch, I was really excited to read this CBCA-nominated title. I was really disappointed. It is a needlessly long-winded story about some people who come together over a bus that someone names Heaven for absolutely no reason at all. The only way this story induces any pleasure for me is if I imagine it as an allegory for the mass suicide of an entire city neighbourhood. Not going to be recommending it like that to any parents anytime soon...more
Oct 29, 2012
Vincent Desjardins
rated it
5 of 5 stars
Shelves:
children-s-and-young-adult,
picture-books
Stella lives in the city. When an abandoned bus with a sign taped to it reading “Heaven” appears one morning in front of Stella’s house, people in the neighborhood seem to change. For once, they stop and talk to one another. Stella, who usually has her thumb in her mouth, changes as well. She sees potential in the old bus and before you know it, she has inspired her community to clean it up and turn it into a neighborhood club house where all are welcome. Everyone brings something to donate to t...more
Care about diversity? Drive 'A Bus Called Heaven'!
“OURS!” little Stella cries in A Bus Called Heaven. That’s the defining moment in Bob Graham’s new book and the words stand alone in a big double-page spread, echoing through his urban landscape.
There are thousands of children’s books that celebrate creativity, compassion and fanciful good fun. In fact, as a Baby Boomer who loved reading books to my own kids, I often regret that we didn’t have more of these colorful picture books back when I was...more
“OURS!” little Stella cries in A Bus Called Heaven. That’s the defining moment in Bob Graham’s new book and the words stand alone in a big double-page spread, echoing through his urban landscape.
There are thousands of children’s books that celebrate creativity, compassion and fanciful good fun. In fact, as a Baby Boomer who loved reading books to my own kids, I often regret that we didn’t have more of these colorful picture books back when I was...more
Every time I read a new Bob Graham book, I nearly always think it's my new favourite Bob Graham book—but this time it might really be my all-time favourite Bob Graham book. A battered old bus turns up one day, parked on the street outside Stella's house, sporting a cardboard sign proclaiming it "Heaven". And the neighbourhood is transformed from that day on.
I saw Bob Graham at the KOALA (Kids Own Australian Literature Awards) 25th anniversary last week, and embarrassed myself by getting teary te...more
I saw Bob Graham at the KOALA (Kids Own Australian Literature Awards) 25th anniversary last week, and embarrassed myself by getting teary te...more
Aug 25, 2012
Jessica
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
picture-books,
children
A really detailed little picture book about a little girl who, with the backing of her town, claims a dilapidated bus set for removal for their own. The text and pictures are very small, so this is more of a one-on-one type of book, but it's a sweet story. What's really interesting to me, though, is that through the amount of detail in the illustration, there's a lot of diversity represented in the depictions of the people in the town. There are gay couples/families, Muslim women in hijab, biker...more
This reminded me of the feel of Stone Soup
. I love how Bob Graham always includes so many different kinds of people in his illustrations.
. I love how Bob Graham always includes so many different kinds of people in his illustrations.
No one else depicts an urban, working-class setting and characters in picture books today as authentically and whimsically as Bob Graham. He is the master, depicting humans in all their honest, real glory. Moms and Dads with tattoos, men with earrings, potbellies hanging out, working mothers with rocking hair, Graham captures them all. Don't let the word "Heaven" fool you - this book is all about community building and belonging. It belongs on the shelves of public schools all over, urban and ru...more
I really liked the sentiment behind this book - that a community full of diverse people can come together around a common cause and make their world a better place. In Stella's town we see people of many religious faiths, as evidenced by their various religious garb (head scarves, yarmulkes, turbans, priest collars, etc.), and also of every color and age. Young and old, bikers and nuns, alike come together to create a community refuge inside of an abandoned bus dubbed "Heaven." The illustrations...more
At first I did not pick up this book, thinking it had religious overtones. The story is less about religion and much more about a community coming together after finding a rusty old bus abandoned on their street. Pushing the bus back to Stella's house, the community begin to clean it up, gather together when before the bus appeared they did not, and put to good use some local teens who like to spray paint graffiti. Soft pastel illustrations with thin lines and the use of comic strip style boxes...more
Apr 18, 2012
Mary
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Anyone looking for a book on working together, community
Shelves:
children-s,
picture-books
Awwwwwww...what an incredibly sweet book! Stella and her neighbors find an abandoned bus on the street. Stella has an idea that it will be theirs. So they spruce it up and turn it into a little community center. Things are going fine until the tow truck comes to cart it off to the junkyard. Stella comes up with a plan to save the bus. Humorous little details in the text and illustrations make this a fun read. It kind of reminds me of Pearl Moscowitz's Last Stand, another book about a community c...more
What if heaven was an unwanted, damaged bus? Would we all band together in harmony and build a peaceful, loving place? Could beauty and love make something ugly into something wonderful? Do we create our own sort of heaven on earth every day with how we act and react? Well, this book hints at these concepts. It would be wonderful to live in this world. The way I see it, it never hurts to teach our children, even abstractly, that the simple act of caring is one of the most important things we can...more
It all started when the bus with a sign that said “heaven” was abandoned on Stella’s street. Traffic slowed, people gathered, and Stella took her thumb out of her mouth and suggested that the abandoned bus could be “ours.” So everyone helped move it out of the street and into Stella’s front yard. It stuck out a bit into the sidewalk and took up the entire yard. The next morning when Stella looked out her window, things had changed again. Now there were people sitting on their front wall, childre...more
A thoughtful, joyous picture book for older children(ages 6-8), with lightly detailed cartoons by the author. A neighborhood sees an abandoned bus, and under the leadership of a little girl, turns the bus into a community center. There are many little things to see in the illustrations, which reflect a multicultural urban neighborhood. The narrative is straightforward and spare, with a subtlety that is keeps the story from being maudlin or overly sentimental. Yes, you can fight city hall and win...more
One morning, a broken-down bus turns up in the street outside Stella's house. Stella and her neighbors work together to make it theirs. But when a tow truck arrives to tote the bus to the junkyard, Stella must find the courage to stand up for what she believes in.
This is a heartwarming story with lively illustrations that kids will love pouring over, but the tow truck conflict was too conveniently resolved for my liking. That's a minor quibble, though. It's a neat little book.
This is a heartwarming story with lively illustrations that kids will love pouring over, but the tow truck conflict was too conveniently resolved for my liking. That's a minor quibble, though. It's a neat little book.
A sweet, but very long picture book about a neighborhood that becomes a community when they rally to make an old bus a place to hang out and gather. Lots of working together and realizing that the people you see every day on the street could be people you spend time with.
Cartoony, detailed illustrations tell this very urban story.
Way too wordy for a story time, but kids who like books with a strong narrative element will be entertained.
Cartoony, detailed illustrations tell this very urban story.
Way too wordy for a story time, but kids who like books with a strong narrative element will be entertained.
According to the May/June 2012 edition of The Horn Book Magazine (pg 66), Bob Graham actually saw a an old bus labeled "Heaven" on the street. He turned the sighting into a lovely and heartwarming community story.
I probably wouldn't use it in a program, but I certainly will display it often in the hopes that patrons will enjoy the humor and delight in what this diverse group of characters create together.
I probably wouldn't use it in a program, but I certainly will display it often in the hopes that patrons will enjoy the humor and delight in what this diverse group of characters create together.
A great book for schools!
An abandonded bus get a new home, a a variety of new purposes and brings a community together in this very urban, modern tale that feels like a classic already.
As community members donate items of comfort to the bus and it's visitors, I came across my favorite line.
"And Lucy lent her dog, Bear--for anyone who needed to just sit and pat something."
Review based on the UK Edition.
An abandonded bus get a new home, a a variety of new purposes and brings a community together in this very urban, modern tale that feels like a classic already.
As community members donate items of comfort to the bus and it's visitors, I came across my favorite line.
"And Lucy lent her dog, Bear--for anyone who needed to just sit and pat something."
Review based on the UK Edition.
With this book, Bob Graham continues to create wonderful portraits for young children of what community and the world can be. The book has so many lovely visual features for children to study. The plot, on the other hand, rather falls apart with the "table soccer" game. Fives stars for the vision and rich illustration; three for the story.
Audience: This book would be great for K-3rd grade students to read, due to its pictures and relatively easy vocabulary.
Appeal: A Bus Called Heaven could be used for a multi-cultural lesson, or even a community lesson, for how to get involved in your community or relate to other people who may not be just like you.
Pre-class book
Appeal: A Bus Called Heaven could be used for a multi-cultural lesson, or even a community lesson, for how to get involved in your community or relate to other people who may not be just like you.
Pre-class book
Graham's books are always populated by a charming cross-section of urbanites. In this book they band together to rescue an old bus and make a refuge for the community -- babies to seniors. There are a number of gaps in logic as the story progresses, but the charm of the effort is pleasing.
An abandoned bus appears in front of Stella's house one day, with a sign on front marked "Heaven", and it brings positive changes in the outlook of Stella and all who pass by in the community.
A broken down bus is brought to Stellas yard. This bus does things that no one thought could happen. It brings the entire community together and becomes a place for everyone to hang out in.
A community fix up an old abandoned bus, and it becomes a focal point for the neighbourhood, but then the crazy rulemaker threatens the bus. What will happen? Will they be able to save it?
A great story about an abandoned bus that brings a community together. And how can you not love a heroine who challenges a grizzly city dump manager to a game of foosball ;)? Loved it!
A little odd. And I'm not quite sure how believable a small child playing foosball for the rights to an abandoned bus actually is, but it's kinda cute. In a weird way.
A lovely story about about a neighborhood that comes together over an abandoned bus and forms a community, and a little girl named Stella leads the way.
A sweet if unbelievable story about a community coming together around a common cause, the re-purposing of an abandoned bus into a community center.
A fantastic story about community and standing up for what's right. The quiet art pairs nicely with this must read book!
Very sweet, about a little girl and an abandoned bus, and how they helped their community feel like a community.
This is another excellent picture book from Candlewick Press. This story may be improbable but it's certainly fun!
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Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.
An Australian children's author and illustrator. His books include Max, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, which won the Kate Greenaway Medal, and "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
More about Bob Graham...
An Australian children's author and illustrator. His books include Max, which won the Nestlé Smarties Book Prize Gold Award, Jethro Byrd, Fairy Child, which won the Kate Greenaway Medal, and "Let's Get A Pup!" Said Kate which won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award
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