The Wheels on the Bus at Christmas

by Sarah Kieley

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

Let's ride the bus on Christmas Eve! Who will we find inside? Grab a ticket and hop aboard the most Christmas-y bus ride ever!

Families will love creating a new Christmas tradition as they sing along to this joyful, boistrous, holiday version of the classic song "The Wheels on the Bus". With a gaggle of adorable Christmas passengers, including reindeer, elves, snowmen, Christmas cookies, and of course Santa himself as the bus driver, 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 sneak glimpse of the characters they'll find inside.

And don't miss the companion book  The Wheels on the Bus at Halloween!

Genres: Christmas, Picture Books, Childrens, Holiday, Music, Fiction, Storytime

Paperback

Published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I can imagine this might amuse some children with the Christmasy take on "Wheels on the Bus" but I didn't enjoy it. The illustration style isn't my favorite and some of the choices for the stanzas just felt odd. Why do the reindeer go "jingle! jingle! jingle!" (presumably because of the bells around their necks) but then a few pages later, anthropomorphic bells (that look like the reindeer bells) go "ding! dong! ding!"? I also found it a bit odd that the anthropomorphic cookies go "crunch! crunch! crunch!" :-/ Fortunately, my youngest did not ask for any rereads of this -- back to the library it goes!

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fun picture book beginning with cut-out windows on the bus that Santa is driving. Little ones who enjoy singing along to "The Wheels on the Bus" will appreciate this Christmas version. A good book to share during a Christmas-themed storytime.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, cute adaptation of a childhood favorite to Christmas themes. Featuring elves, reindeer, snowmen, bells, lights, cookies and the like :)

[A Allen · Rating 1 out of 5]

One of my kids loves "Wheels on the Bus" so when I saw this book I thought it would be the perfect addition to our Christmas book collection. She loved it. I was less impressed. The title page shows a snow-covered town with a Bakery and a Post Office, but that town is not featured in the book! Every illustration is of the inside of the bus, unfortunately. Instead of singing "all day long" or "all through the town", Kieley ends every page with "on a snowy Christmas Eve!" The elves go "Let's make toys", the reindeer "Jingle! Jingle! Jingle!", the snowmen say "Brr! Brr! Brr!", the bells go "Ding! Dong! Ding!", the cookies go "Crunch! Crunch! Crunch!", the lights go "Twinkle! Twinkle! Blink!", and Santa says "Ho! Ho! Ho!" I am glad that we rented this title instead of buying it. I love the concept of the book but it could have been better executed. I am hoping my kid doesn't ask about it next year.

[Barbara · Rating 2 out of 5]

While I'm sure the little ones who love the original "The Wheels on the Bus" will enjoy this holiday-themed book, it didn't particularly appeal to me. The repetitive lines make it fun to say as elves, reindeer, and bells, among others, make various sounds, and the bus fills up. The fact that good old Saint Nick is driving the bus will add to the book's appeal for its intended audience--not necessarily those of us who are older. The youngsters will also like being able to look through the open windows on the bus on the cover to see its passengers. I'm all for magic and holiday joy, but this one grew tiresome for me. I know that won't the case for those young readers, though, who will probably beg to hear this read again and again.

[Mandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Picture book. The classic children's song in a Christmas version. Instead of wheels, windows, etc, there are elves "Let's make toys!"; reindeer--jingle, jingle, jingle; snowmen-Brr, Brr, Brr; bells--ding, dong, ding; cookies-- crunch, crunch, crunch; lights--twinkle, twinkle, blink; and Santa Claus driving-- ho, ho, ho! The text works pretty well with the rhythm of the song, the illustrations are bright and colorful, and the peek-through cover is fun. Overall a cute story that will engage kids but is not particularly memorable.

[Kendra · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is such a cute story, geared more towards toddlers then older kids. But we read it one evening as we needed a quick Christmas book for the night. The illustrations are bright and colorful and gives each character a personality. My kids loved that it was someone different on each page that was giving it the Christmas feeling. I felt like though the story was forced to fit into the Wheels on the Bus song. Sometimes it felt like it was way off their the original beat. I still recommend checking this out for infants and toddlers.

[Miss Pippi the Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic song, Wheels on the Bus, gets a holiday spin!
Characters in this version include elves, reindeer, snowmen, bells, cookies, lights, and Santa.
It's a fun novelty book to read once a year.

2020 storytime theme: Merry & Bright Read Aloud Extravaganza

Reviewed from a library copy.

[E & E’s Mama · Rating 3 out of 5]

Elliot enjoys The Wheels on the Bus and the many variations we’ve read, so I thought he’d enjoy this one. He did overall, but I think I’m burnt out on this song when with the cute Christmas lyrics, so it wasn’t much fun for me🙈

[Kelly]

Simple, but kids will like it I think. Very Christmas forward. Not as many action things to do like in the original song, but there are some to do.

[Abby Johnson]

Only for Wheels on the Bus superfans. Ho hum.

[Christine Grant · Rating 3 out of 5]

Facebook LIVE. Cute but too short.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun read aloud for early elementary

[Jaime · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story. Christmas fun!

[Noreen · Rating 5 out of 5]

My granddaughter loved this book. We sang it everyday for three weeks. (library book)

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

The subject, words and pictures make this a cute book that children (and adults) are sure to enjoy!

[Jessica · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Karin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Bet you can't read this without singing.

[Alison N · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who's seen a few iterations of wheels on the bus, this is by far the most festive one I've read so far.

[Jennifer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Grandson loved the words, we sang and acted them out many (many!) times. I did not like the illustrations and he’s really too young to notice. Illustrations : 2 stars. Text: 4 stars.

[Bri]

a super cute and fun take on the classic wheels on the bus tune- my students LOVED it.

[Amara · Rating 2 out of 5]

Weird illustrations, nothing novel here.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute and great for a seek and find story as well

[Meredith · Rating 3 out of 5]

The classic children’s song “The Wheels on the Bus” gets rewritten with a Christmas theme.

This bus ride around the North Pole features things commonly associated with Christmas (elves, reindeer, snowmen, Christmas cookies, Christmas lights, and Santa Claus).