Beep Beep Goes the Bus Driver

by Vincent Scala

Everyone has taken a trip on a bus. Theyre all the same: you get on, you get off, you sit and enjoy the ride. This however, is not your ordinary bus. From the moment you climb aboard, this trip is an unforgettable ride to the ends of the earth and beyond. Have you ever taken a trip with a dinosaur, a fish, or a ballerina bear? If not, then this is the bus for you! Our friendly bus driver takes us to forest, the zoo, mountains, and places you have only seen in your dreams. There may even be a few surprises on the way. Hop on board and meet your new friends. Youre in for one adventurous bus ride.

Genres: Picture Books

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 28, 2013

Reviews

[☼Bookish in Virginia☼]

Crazy as it may seem, I like Beep-Beep books. They usually make for a good read-aloud, and children will frequently jump in with their own sound effects --which makes for more fun.

So when I saw BEEP BEEP GOES THE BUS DRIVER at netgalley, I requested access. (The version I read was a limited time perusal.)

What we liked was the artwork. It's very colorful and different. The style is 'cartoonish' in the best way, and VERY kid-friendly. And the pages are filled with humans and critters that made us smile. (The bunnies are hysterical.)

What didn't work as well for us was all of the text. For a book meant for very young children there were quite a few words. And while a lot of text isn't necessarily a problem, the meter made for a stumbling read-aloud at points.

The Good:

Here comes a bear
in tiny pink shoes.
It's Petunia the dancer
who twirls to amuse.

The Less Good:

"Hold on to your seats... the next stops a doozy.
It might make you float, it might make you woozy."
The driver pushes a special red
button, and up you go with a
powerful blast. The bus soars
like a rocket through the sky.
"Beep, beep goes the bus
driver, "I don't think I've
ever been this high."

An experienced reader with a few trial runs under their belt can probably make this work. But the lyrics are out-of-the-box easy, and to be truthful much blame could be laid at the feet of the persons responsible for the layout. Simply put, there should have been some space between sections, instead of having all of the paragraphs crammed together. The good example from above, for instance, had a whole other section right after it, with no additional spacing to delineate the rhymes.

Try with very young children who might enjoy the traveling on earth and in space themes. The artwork is charming.

[Suzanne · Rating 2 out of 5]

If you like stories that take everyday events and turn them into something surprising, then this is a book you will enjoy. Nearly everyone has ridden a bus, but not a bus like this. This bus goes to the mountains, the zoo, the forest, even the moon. The passengers are not ordinary either. There is an abominable snowman, a talking goldfish, a pair of dodos and many other amazing creatures. But everyone makes it back home safely in time for dinner.

This could be used at the start of an art project where each person imagines the strangest person/creature/animal that would ever be seen on a bus, then imagines the craziest place that could possibly be their destination. Put them together, and "VOILA!" you would have a class book about a zany bus ride.

I read an e-book provided by the publisher through NetGalley.

[Valerie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Take a ride on the bus to go pick up a variety of riders. From zoo animals, to bunnies, to the abominable snowman, kids will be kept wondering what animals will come next.

I was pretty disappointed in this book. I chose it because it sounded like something I might be able to read in my preschool story times or sing along. It definitely won't be added to my collection. The illustrations are interesting and colorful, resembling some television shows that kids might recognize. They are not necessarily my style, but they aren't bad.

It is the actual story itself that ruined it for me. Rhyming books need to flow. From the first page, I couldn't get into it. "He passes through the city, the mountains, and the zoo. Here comes the bus driver... I think he's beeping at you." Yes, the "..." is in there. That seems pointless. And then, this one could have been saved with changing the end to "He's beeping at you" instead of "I think he's beeping at you." That wasn't a deal breaker for me, but from that point on I wasn't impressed. Many of the rhymes don't rhyme. Go and Road. Stop and Off.

Then there is this one: "The driver pushes a special red button and up you go with a powerful blast. The bus soars like a rocket through the sky. Beep, beep goes the bus driver, "I don't think I've ever been this high."" What is the point of the first sentence?! It is like the author is having a hard time getting the story in like he wants it, so he just gives up caring if it flows at all.

"All of a sudden, like a dream you can't believe, floating onto the bus is the adventurous Spaceman Steve. "I've lost my rocket, but I've brought everyone cheese." So... is cheese supposed to rhyme with believe and Steve, or was this just another random sentence added even though it doesn't follow the rhyming pattern that happened for the first half of the book.

Is it only me, or does "as you wave everyone goodbye" make no sense?

The book is too long. The illustrations are just okay to me. The story itself has potential, but I focused too much on the issues listed above to really care about it.

(free ARC provided through NetGalley for an honest review)

[Destiny Dawn Long · Rating 2 out of 5]

Full review at my blog: http://destinydawnlong.wordpress.com/...

Unfortunately Scala’s text leaves much to be desired. The book is written entirely in rhyme, a style that can be a lot of fun, especially when read aloud. But some of the rhymes feel forced. Worse, the meter is a disaster. When I attempted to read it aloud, I found the rhythm and accents within each couplet were rarely the same, making everything sound clunky and awkward.

In the end I give this book 2 out of 5 stars. Even though there was a lot that I liked about it, I just can’t get past the poorly written text.

[Beyond the Pages with Eva K · Rating 4 out of 5]

My Thoughts: Colorful. Playful. Funny.

Beep Beep Goes the Bus Driver was a cute, kid-friendly book. I liked the rhyming quality and the creative way the author introduced animals and sites. The adventure of the bus ride was special, but I really enjoyed how the bus changed and became a rocket. Bring on the next adventure, I say!

I received an ARC of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest opinion. I was not required to write a positive review. The words I have shared are my own.

[Jj · Rating 1 out of 5]

The best thing I can say is that I liked the colorful elements in the illustrations. Judging by its cover, I had some crazy notion that it might be fun for kids to read, or good for use in a preschool storytime. The sad fact is that illustrations are fun, yet also a kind of sensory overload--more specifically, they have a drug-trip-gone-bad sort of feel. The writing, on the other hand, is just painfully bad. Also, there are rhymes. Did I mention that part? Poorly written text, and terrible rhymes. I am buying a bus ticket to send this one a one-way ticket out of town.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

copy kindly provided by NetGalley

an imagination fuelled adventure of a fantastic bus ride to some odd destinations with some even stranger passengers.

kids are sure to love this mixed up story.