The wheels on the bus

Jane Cabrera

Holiday House, 2011

Written and illustrated by the author, this books version of the wheels on the bus goes to the jungle; in there the bus gets filled with animals that make noises in the tune of the wheels on the bus. The passengers this time the animals are a lion, hyenas, monkeys, crocodiles and more. As in the book, The boy on the bus, this also makes the rhyme with the sounds produced by these animals.  The flamingos flap, the Zebra chomps, the lion roars, and more, the driver is a giraffe that drives all around.

The hyenas in the bus go, ha, ha, ha, ho, ho, ho, he, he, he, the hyenas in the bus go ha, ha, ha, all around the jungle!

The boy on the bus : a sing-along storybook

Penny Dale writer and illustrator

Candlewick, 2007

In this book the adaptation for the wheels on the bus is really appealing to children of all ages, they will enjoy reading and singing this rhymes, as well as recognising the animals that get to this bus. The familiar sounds produced by the animals are well adapted and the rhyme allows children to easily sing along and guess who is going to be the next passenger. 

 

The illustrations are appealing and overall the book is a good source to encourage children to learn sounds and sing.

“The boy on the bus says room inside! Move on back! Enjoy the ride!” “The boy on the bus says, all aboard!” Ready, steady, go!

Pete the Cat: The wheels on the bus

Dean James

New York : HarperCollins, 2013.

Pete the Cat takes children to interesting ride aboard the school bu. As he drives, he takes his friends and they all listen sounds produced by the bus but also they sing along: “Come on, Pete! Come on Pete! The kitties on the bus say, “Come on, Pete! Hop on board!”

 The author James Dean is listed by the New York Times as No.1 bestselling artist. This version of the Wheels on the bus with combination of this humorous character Pete the Cat is a perfect version that is widely recommended for children of all ages.

The wheels on the bus

Illustrations: Lara Ede.

Make Believe Ideas, 2011

 

This board book edition is good for babies and toddlers as it encourages them to touch and feel the different texture that accompanies the illustrations. The rhyme is close to the traditional “The wheels on the bus” song with some different verses. The colours used in the illustrations are bright and simple. The format is good for children to handle and grab easy, the board pages are well reinforced, it contains pages with textures for babies to explore, overall the design is good. It also has good reviews by the school library journal.

The verses different to the traditional ones go like this: “The teddy bears in the bus go munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, munch, the teddy bears in the bus go munch, munch, munch, all day long”

The wheels on the bus

Mandy Foot writer and illustrator

Hachette, 2010

In this book the traditional rhyme the Wheels on the bus gets a transformed in to a very Australian version where the driver is a wombat that travels with his passengers around Australia.
 
They visit iconic places like Bondi beach where a surf-lifesaver is a Koala, they visit Darwin where they cross a river full of crocodiles and also visit the Great Barrier Reef where they go snorkelling with an emu.
 
Go in this bus! click the link here!.

 

 

The wheels on the ute go round and round

Loraine Harrison

Illustrations Claire Richards

NSW: Scholastic, 2010

 

This is another Australian version of the wheels on the bus. The driver is a Wombat that goes around Australia. In his journey he collects Aussie animals and they all admire the landscapes, they travel and visit mountains, rivers, cliffs, farms and other Australian landscapes, until the ute wets broken and they arrive to the Aussie bush bash!.

This is a great book that relates to the Australian iconic animals and the sounds they produce. Children will enjoy the rhyme and the pictures that are all funny and full of movement. The book form part of a series Aussie Gems, great Australian Yarns.

The seals on the bus

Lenny Hort.

New York : Henry Holt, 2000.

In this book the bus seems to take much more than ordinary passengers, as there are a variety of animals that jump in. There are seals, tigers, geese, rabbits, monkeys, sheep, vipers and skunks, all unexpected passengers; animals producing their own characteristic sounds in tune of the wheels on the bus.  

This book was awarded in 2000 by the School Library Journal as one of the best books of the year. In addition this book was nominated for the Bluegrass Award in 2003.

The wheels on the bus

Maryann kovalski

Joy Street books, 1987

On this book the characters are two children and their grandmother, they are going to take a ride in the bus but they miss it, so they decide to sign “The wheels on the bus”.

The rhyme in particular doesn’t have any difference to the traditional one but I have decided to include it as the story is different, the illustrations are good although some reviews doesn’t agreed on the characteristics of the contexts of the story as they classify them as old fashioned. I think that they are good and appealing. Children will enjoy reading this book and also enjoy singing along “The wheels on the bus”

Peppa’s first pet

Ladybird Books, 2011.

This book is based on the TV series Peppa pig created by Neville Astley and Mark Baker.

The famous character Peppa Pig and her family go on the bus when her little fish Goldie looks sick; during the trip they find some of her friends that try to cheer the fish up so they all sing “The wheels on the bus”.

When they arrive to the vets the fish is so happy that it eats all its food and they all agreed that the fish just needed a ride. They get back home by bus singing:

 

“The fish on the bowl go round and round, round and round, round and round, the fish on the bowl go round and round, all day long”

 

This book is a nice story that will keep children entertained, the pictures are simple and colourful. The fish jumps out of one bowl to the other without been noticed! This book is the number 5 of a series from Peppa Pig.

 

Ladybird website has a personalise books from Peppa Pig where you can create your own book with your child name and characteristics, just go to the link below:

Your own Peppa and me book

The wheels on the bus : and the boat on the waves.

Wes Magee and Richard Morgan

London: Franklin Watts, 2010.

 The first part of the book is dedicated to the traditional rhyme “The wheels on the bus”.  In the second the author takes us to a trip in a boat. This adaptation is well done, the illustrations are nice and bright and full of movement. The use of two different transports is good and children will like to see the differences between them, They will also like to try both rhymes.

 “The boat on the waves goes up and down, up and down, up and down, the boat on the waves go up and down, all day long”

The whistle on the train

Margaret McNamara

Illustrated by Richard Egielski; paper engineering by Gene Vosough.

New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 2008.

The adaptation of the wheels on the bus rhyme this time is based in train related tings as the tracks, tunnels, signs and more. The combination of beautiful illustrations and the pop-up artwork is highly attractive, and very interactive to children who loves the trains but overall the action story books. On it you can see how the characters interact with the landscapes. Some of the rhymes go like this:

"The whistle on the train goes whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, whoo, the whistle on the train goes, whoo, whoo, whoo all the way yo town", "The wheels on the train goes clackety clack, clackety clack, clackety clack the wheels on the train goes clackety clack, all through the town"

 Margaret McNamara has won the Oppenheimer Toy Portfolio Best Book Award for her series of the Pumpkin Patch. And Richard Egielski is an award winner illustrator and author of many children books.

The spooky wheels on the bus

J. Elizabeth Mills.

Illustrations by Ben Mantle
New York : Scholastic, 2010

 

This is the Halloween version of the wheels on the bus; Children will be transported to a spooky town where the passengers are ghosts, monsters, vampires, witches, etc. This book is so humorous that children will love it. They also will have the opportunity to practice some counting of ghosts and more. The illustrations are bright and colour full, the bus looks appealing in particular the wheels that appear to be made with pumpkins!

 

“One spooky bus goes rattle and shake, rattle and shake, rattle and shake, One spooky bus goes rattle and shake, all through the town”. Two white wiper go creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, creak, two white wipers go creak, creak, creak all through the town”. 

The wheels on the school bus

Written by Mary-Alice Moore, illustrated by Laura Huliska-Beith

New York: Harper Collins, 2006

The adaptation of this book is particularly well focused on the school theme where the lyrics fit well with the original rhyme song. The students and teachers and other staff from school travel together combining their activities, even the principal acts as the driver of the bus! The librarian says to students read read read, read more books! The rhyme seems to fit well in this adaptation and the children will love to sing along with the school bus!

These lyrics are supported by good illustrations and it is for sure one book that has received good ranting and review by the School Library Journal.

Jon Scieszka's Trucktown : Truckery Rhymes

By Jon Scieszka.

Artwork created by Design—Garage, David Gordon, Loren Long and David Shannon.
New York: Simon & Schuster Books for young readers, 2009.

This collection in highly recommended for story time as it includes many of the favourite classic children rhymes, all has made all sing along.  With a particular touch in which the lyrics gets truckery inspired!. This songs are particularly fun to sing! Some of the rhymes included in this book are: Little Dan dumper, Peter Peter Payload eater, three loud Trucks, Wheels on the truck, Rock a bye mixer, Rumble rumble monster Max, Swing around with Rosie and more!

"The siren on the truck goes whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, whoop, the siren on the truck goes whoop, whoop whoop, all the way to town"

 

 This book was nominated to Beehive Children’s Poetry Book Award in 2011. To a Volunteer State Book Award and a Washington Children’s Choice Picture Book in 2011. It also has been included in the best seller lists of the New York Times and Publishers Weekly.

 Jon Scieszka reading some of his rhymes

 

 Children's author Jon Scieszka reads from Truckery rhymes

 

The leaves on the trees

Thom Wiley, illustrations by Andrew Day

Scholastic, 2011

The leaves on the trees is dedicated the arrival of Autumn and the transformation that the trees have in readiness for Winter to arrive. This adaptation of “The wheels on the bus” is well done, in particular the illustrations with a group of children watching the leaves fall from the trees. It also shoes a variety of trees and leaves and the transformation of colours they get in this season. The rhyme goes like this:

“The leaves on the trees are falling down, falling down, falling down the leaves on the trees are falling down Autumn is here”. The sweet gum leaves turn orange and red, orange and red, orange and red, the sweet gum leaves turn orange and red, Autumn is here!

The wheels on the bus: a read-along sing-along trip to the zoo

Words by Jeanne Willis and Illustrations by Adam Stower.

N.Y. : Barron’s Educational Series, 2012

This is a trip to the zoo where the animals ride on the bus making noises and actions proper of their kind. The trip goes well until the hippos ride and the tires goes flat, then the elephants help to blow the tires and they all continue the trip. Is a nice selection of different animals, the illustrations are appealing, the rhyme matches well. Children will love to sing along this other rhyme and in particular they will be able to have fun seen full page illustrations.

“ The hippos on the bus go squish, squash, squish, squish, squash, squish,  squish, squash, squish, the hippos on the bus go squish, squash, all around the zoo”.

 

The wheels on the race car

Alexander Zane, Illustrations by James Warhola

New York : Orchad Books, 2005.

This two fabulous authors present a version where the words and illustrations transfer you to the fun and emotions of the races! James Warhola and Alez Zane are bestseller authors and this is a good example of their great combination of talents. The illustrations are bright and colourful; it even includes the movements of choreography suggested for each of the part of the song!  Some of the verses are like this:

 “Racers start your engines! The drivers in the race car yell, ‘Go, go, go!, Go, go, go! Go, go, go! The drivers in the race car yell, ‘Go, go, go!’ at the starting line!

The engine in the race car goes Vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, vroom, Vroom, vroom, vroom! The engine in the race car goes Vroom, vroom, vroom, all around the track!

The wheels on the bus

Paul O. Zelinsky

New York :  Dutton Children’s Books 1990

 Although this book has only the traditional rhyme “The wheels on the bus”; the action of the pop-up illustrations in combination with the wheels on the bus rhyme is a very good resource for engagement and promoting books in toddlers. They will love activating the actions in the pages while they sing along!  

 This book won an ALA Notable Children’s Books in 1990. And is still one of the favourite for children who love the wheels! Parents and carers are also going to love the movable actions the goes along with the rhyme, the doors open and close, and the people goes up and down!

A bus called Heaven

Bob Graham

Candlewick Press, 2012


The story of this book is so emotional and overall engaging. It begins when a bus gets broken and appears in the front a girl’s house Stella; this soon is noticeable by all the neighbourhood and they all decide to do something with it, they all painted and make it a nice place where all can share and enjoy; but one day a tow truck come to take it out of the way and they all try to stop it. Stella makes a deal with the truck driver to try keeping the bus for the community so in this deal they play in the soccer ball table in the bus and the neighbourhood win the truck back, since then they make the bus the place where all share without any difference in races or gender.

Between the many awards that this book has won, the Children’s Book Council of Australia: Children’s book of the year award: picture book of the year is one of the more noticeable, it also won the USBBY Outstanding International Books – Grades K-2 in 2013.

Little Cat and the big red bus

Jane Godwin, Illustrations by Anna Walker

Penguin Viking, 2008

 

This simple story with beautiful illustrations also involves a bus. In the story two sisters take the bus to school every day, until the big sister gets sick so the little Cat, has to take the bus by herself, she is scared as she always relays on her sister to get back. She gets to school well but on the way back she falls sleep and misses her stop; the driver doesn’t see she is sleep in the bus so when she wakes up she is alone and frightened. Lucky the driver comes back and takes her back home in a special sit at the front where she can see all the way back to her house and to her family. 

This is also an award winner book, it won the Children’s Book Council of Australia: Notable Australian Children’s books: early childhood and Picture books in 2009.