The Bus Ride

January 19, 2015
Dubuc’s (The Lion and the Bird) account of a girl’s bus trip to her grandmother’s house unfolds at a leisurely pace. The girl holds her mother’s hand at the bus stop, then boards the bus: “Bye, Mom! Yes, I know! I’ll be good!” The squat, horizontal format lends itself nicely to images of the long, wide bus interior, whose fixtures and passengers Dubuc draws with tiny strokes of softly colored pencil, conveying a sense of order and calm. For readers, the spreads form a game of noticing what’s changed and what’s stayed the same as the bus travels through the woods and animal families of all sizes embark and disembark. A cat mother knits, a family of hedgehogs trudges down the aisle, and a sloth sleeps and sleeps and sleeps. Even when a sly fox in a trench coat tries to lift a beaver’s wallet, justice prevails as the girl and a new friend stick out their tongues at him and chase him away. When people (and animals) travel together, readers will realize, they begin to build a community. Ages 3–7.

Starred review from December 15, 2014
Clara (named only on the book jacket) narrates her own story of the first time she goes to Grandma's house on the bus by herself. Of course, she isn't really alone. Quite a cast of characters joins her on the wide, spacious vehicle. They are all animals dressed (more or less) in people clothes and doing what people do on buses: knitting; reading the newspaper (whose headlines often relate to the action); napping. In fact, the sloth pretty much sleeps through the whole trip. Clara shares a cookie with a friendly wolf tot, is kind of freaked out by the darkness as the bus goes through a tunnel, and notes the mix-up when the knitting owl's blue chapeau ends up on someone else's head and the baby wolf's binky ends up in his dad's mouth. She even helps thwart a robbery! In delicately sketched but clear strokes Dubuc takes characters and readers through countryside and forest, and Clara reaches her destination, where her grandmother waits for her at the bus stop, looking very like Clara's own mom but with silver hair. The exaggerated proportions of the book (6.75 inches high and 11 inches wide) echo that of the bus Clara rides in and make for dramatic double-page spreads. Good for imagination and travel, this merry bus ride has glimmers of "Little Red Riding Hood" but is entirely itself. (Picture book. 4-8)

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April 1, 2015

Gr 1-2-Young Clara is going on a bus all by herself to visit her grandmother. Her mother takes her to the bus stop, and her grandmother picks her up at the other end. Clara appears to be perhaps eight years old and is quite confident to take her first solo ride. Most of the other passengers are animals-charming, anthropomorphized creatures who wear clothing or are carrying things that gives them individuality and personality. Clara interacts with the other riders-sharing cookies, accepting a flower-in simple, sweet ways. Even when she spots a pickpocket on the bus and thwarts the thief, Clara is an endearing and innocent child, and the encounter is related without tension or drama. The illustrations are fantastic-in multiple meanings of the word: imaginary, improbable, whimsical, and superb. The text is minimal, and some pages are wordless. Adults may have difficulty suspending their anxiety about such a young child traveling alone. VERDICT Though well written and wonderfully illustrated, the eclectic story is a bit thin.-Mary Hazelton, formerly at Warren & Waldoboro Elementary Schools, ME

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