Bus! Stop!

Starred review from December 18, 2017
Yang (Puzzlehead) dedicates his graphically inventive book to “all the nice bus drivers who waited as I ran toward the bus.” Alas, such is not the good fortune of his young hero, who has just missed his bus to school (hence the title). Oh well, there’s always another bus, right? But the vehicles that subsequently show up don’t seem to be headed to school. Triangular creatures use their propeller heads to board one that rides on tall, spindly legs; there’s a covered wagon bus for cowpokes; and one that resembles a bounce house holds passengers who look and move like big rubber balls. As reality becomes increasingly fungible and funny (an ocean liner pulls up at one point), the boy finally hops on a bus that looks like a cross between a Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade balloon and a spaceship. The book’s low-slung format echoes the horizontal shape of the buses, the text’s word balloons, and the long stretches of city streets, and Yang’s stylized, offbeat characters and “buses” give this story of transportation lost and found a quirky universality. Ages 2–5. Agent: David Goldman, David Goldman Agency.

January 15, 2018
A young bus rider's misfortune turns weird and delightful in Yang's playful picture book.The title page sets the scene: passengers line up by a bright red bus-stop sign. Turn the page and see the back end of a moving bus as a boy runs after it. The boy, of course, doesn't catch up. Meanwhile, some anthropomorphic triangles take their place at the bus stop, while a green vehicle peeks out on the right page. The subsequent double-page spread reveals a long, tall bus full of triangle-shaped passengers. Naturally, the boy is shocked. "THAT is NOT my bus." The boy watches it roll away as cowboys and a cowgirl waltz into the scene. Their ride? It's a covered wagon, big and long...like a bus. "It does not look like MY bus," says the boy as the covered wagon retreats and in comes a trio of sailors. Yang establishes a pattern from the get-go, piling on the outlandish and the fab (a bounce house in a domed bus?) in broad strokes. Drab, square buildings serve as a city backdrop, while color and curves bring to life the buses and passengers (varied in skin color and shape--the protagonist is orangey-brown). The sparse text pops up in small bursts to punctuate the proceedings. When the boy takes a chance on a cool-looking balloon bus, it's a small triumph.An imaginative, fun ode to bus travel and its many minor surprises. (Picture book. 2-5)

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February 1, 2018

PreS-Gr 1-An orange-faced boy misses his bus but is rewarded with a parade of wacky vehicles that soon follow. A group of triangle-people wearing propeller beanies rise into the air to catch a bus on elevated wheels. "THAT is NOT my bus," the hero declares. He also forgoes the covered wagon that fills up with cowpokes, a boat loaded up with sailors, and a bouncy house truck that's enjoyed by balloon-shaped people. "Maybe I should have taken THAT bus." He finally hails a striped floating raft with an animal face whose passengers are varied. As they float away, the boy sees a girl rushing to catch the this bus-but she misses it, completing the circle. The long horizontal format enhances the quirkiness of the tale, which progresses from day to night, and includes a pair of bird cohorts to find on each spread. VERDICT Humor suitable for all ages sets an example of how to think creatively while waiting. Yang's refreshing offering will appeal to anyone who has ever missed a bus.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2018
Preschool-K Bus! Stop! calls a boy as he runs behind the exhaust of a city bus. He waits at the stop, but none of the other buses or their riders look familiar. There are people with propeller heads flying up onto a tall bus, bowlegged cowboys meandering onto a mega-length horse-drawn wagon, sailors boarding a rolling cruise ship, and roly-poly folk bouncing aboard a see-through bubble. The bus he finally boards via rope ladder is held afloat by helium balloons. As it drifts away, he notices a girl chasing after it calling, Bus! Stop! Yang's artwork is immediately recognizable for its bold colors and playful style. The people and animals pictured are two-dimensional and lack detailing, and yet their vibrant coloring helps them stand out from the beige cityscape. The story is almost wordless, and much less busy than the images supporting it, but visual cues on each page hint at upcoming images, providing some room for discussion and prediction with young readers, and the full-circle ending should elicit a giggle or two.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)