The Wheels on the Bus at Halloween

by Sarah Kieley (Illustrator)

The favorite children's song The Wheels on the Bus gets a Halloween twist!

Let's ride the bus on Halloween! Who will we find inside? Grab a ticket and hop aboard for a trick-or-treat bus ride!

Families will love creating a new Halloween tradition as they sing along to this joyful, boisterous version of the classic song The Wheels on the Bus. With a gaggle of adorable Halloween passengers--including pumpkins, witches, cats, and candy--this bright and festive book is sure to have children eager to read it (and sing it!) again and again. Peek-through windows in the front cover give kids a glimpse of the characters they'll find inside.

And don't miss its companion book, The Wheels on the Bus at Christmas.

Genres: Halloween, Picture Books, Storytime, Holiday, Music, Childrens, Juvenile

24 pages, Hardcover

Published August 17, 2021

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I imagine this will be a lot of fun for the pre-K set. It's great for read-aloud as you can "sing" the book to the tune of the Wheels on the Bus. I, personally, wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations. I also felt some of the Halloweeny variations on the song worked better than others, (I was fine with the ghosts on the bus going boo! boo! boo! and the witches going tee! hee! hee! but they lost me with the anthropomorphic candies going crunch! crunch! crunch!)

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Halloween version of the Wheels on the Bus picture book with non-scary ghosts, witches, bats, and monsters. A fun book to share with preschoolers.

[Gabrielle Stoller · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't expect earth shattering (and the illustrations are more on the comic/funny side) but my storytime kiddos enjoyed it.

[Cheryl Gladfelter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This worked really well for storytime. Because it's Wheels on the Bus, kids quickly picked up the song and sang along--always adorable.

[Bethany · Rating 5 out of 5]

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS AT HALLOWEEN is a fun, humorous twist on the children's classic song Wheels on the Bus. It follows the same tune but with some Halloween substitutions. Instead of people, wipers, and doors, there's witches, cats, and pumpkins. Also, instead of "all through the town", the author changes it to "on a spooky Halloween".

The illustrations are rich and silly which causes my daughter to grin with each new scene. Everything has a face, like the candy and caramel apples, and makes the story more engaging for children. I love the simplistic design of the whole novel, and as an avid fan of Halloween, I can say I enjoy this just as much as my five-year-old does. The bus scene makes the situation and tune funnier, which appeals to my daughter.


Final Verdict: With Halloween around the corner, I would recommend this to any family who's looking for some holiday fun that everyone can enjoy.

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic English-language children's song "The Wheels on the Bus" gets rewritten with a Halloween theme.

This picture book features Halloween creatures and objects: ghosts, witches, bats, pumpkins, candy, black cats, and monsters.

Because the candy pieces are anthropomorphic, I found the verse "The candies on the bus go 'Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!'" to be unsettling. The other characters are eating these sentiment pieces of candy that have eyes, arms, legs, and smiley mouths. Personally, I would have gone with "The skeletons on the bus go 'Rattle! Rattle! Rattle!'" instead.

The cover features a cut-out design. There is a map of the bus route across the front flyleaf and the title page.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Canal Winchester Public Library. I picked it because he loves Wheels on the Bus and is really getting into Halloween this year. He was thrilled that the ghosts say "Boo!" (his new favorite word) and that each verse ends with "spooky" Halloween (his second new favorite word). He sat next to me in the rocking chair and we read it multiple times, then he "read" it on his own.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just like the song, but with a Halloween twist! For some reason I prefer the classic, but I think that's because I grew up with that song so it's nostalgic for me whereas this Halloween one is new to me. It's not a bad book or song though. It was just okay for me. The illustrations are really cute though! They're colorful and adorable.

[Alissa Tsaparikos · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a simply but fun rendition of the Wheels on the Bus song, with a Halloween twist. It would be a great addition to any Halloween storytime, and is a nice way to encourage singing and rhyming during the storytime.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

A cute Halloween version of the wheels on the bus song. Parodies are very fun to make up and read. We all do it but sometimes can't share them with others due to the content. Yours was catchy and cute.

[Molly Cluff (Library!) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not breaking any new ground here, but sure to be a blast at storytime during spooky season. Each verse focuses on a different monster or ghoul. We always love a book we can sing with! A pretty short read, too.

[Bearclover · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's a book for children. Meant for children. Written and illustrated for the entertainment of children. Not sure why adults don't understand that, but alas.

My 2 year old loves singing along and thought the illustrations were silly.

So, 5 stars.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

A Halloween spin on the classic song with fun illustrations.

[Awjtf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute!

[A. · Rating 3 out of 5]

100% you get what you're expecting here, but it should be an excellent addition to spooky Halloween storytimes!

[Leslie · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. A fun warm-up for our Halloween Storytime in the Park.

[Leticia · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of Violet's favorite songs remixed with her favorite holiday? 5 Stars from Violet.

[Evelyn Hernández · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it. Very cute and catchy.

[Jennifer Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars because the pictures are fun and cute, I could see my grandkids loving it.

[Catie · Rating 4 out of 5]

My toddler niece loves to sing this song with us. A Halloween update, featuring witches, bats, cats and ghosts.

[Annie S. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute illustrations and fun lyrics of passengers on the bus on a spooky Halloween! Winner with A. We pretend to drink the apple cider.

[Sy’s Shelf · Rating 4 out of 5]

a spooky version of the best song ever!

[Wanda ❣️ · Rating 5 out of 5]

I secretly love that we're still reading spooky books and it's almost April!

My youngest caught on really quickly to the singing piece and immediately requested we sing it again.

[Nanny B · Rating 4 out of 5]

based on the kid's song