[(The Monsters on the Bus: Sesame Street )] [Author: Sarah Albee] [Aug-2013]

by Sarah Albee

Reading is one of the most important skills a child will ever learn. When you read to children, you are sharing an experience that prepares them to learn to read. Jellybean Books have been written especially to be read aloud to toddlers and preschoolers aged 3-5 years old. Every book is lively, colorful, filled with fabulous characters, and priced to please.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Monsters, Music, Buses

Hardcover

First published June 26, 2001

Reviews

[Raz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using the familiar cadence of the popular childrens' song 'Wheels on the Bus' to underscore the unnamed protagonist's descent into madness on this monster-filled bus was a stroke of genius from the authors worthy of a Stanley Kubrick or David Lynch.

The bus ride begins innocently enough, documenting the struggle we all face daily to find some oasis of calm in the workaday world of the modern capitalist.

Someone's eating cookies (I won't spoil whom but let's just say any fan of the Sesame Street universe will NOT be disappointed!), someone's playing their radio too loud; the standard inconveniences we must all face.

But then things take a turn for the darker; a weird purple sludge seeps from our unnamed everyman, an army of frogs appears, a marching band is suddenly on board...and the eerily menacing visage of Grover makes himself known in different forms, mocking our hapless victim as he succumbs to the Lovecraftian horror that is any modern city's public transport network.

The tension is built up admirably until our long-suffering madman finally escapes into the assumed safety of the world beyond the bus...though even then we're given a hint that the nightmare is never over.

I highly recommend this masterpiece of surreal terror to all fans of mind-bending horror and metaphor. I must admit though, as much as the open-ended nature of the chaos presented was this novel's strength, it may have gotten 5 stars from me if there was just slightly more structure. A lesson for the sequel perhaps, which I have no doubt is coming after the marvellously sinister fever dream quality of the finale.

Brava!!

[Bridgett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ben really loved the retelling of the classic song, "The Wheels on the Bus" starring all your favorite Sesame Street monsters!

[Maggie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just as crazy as riding the MTA.

[Katelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

I like this book. At first I think it is a song “the wheels on the bus”. But some of the words in this book are not the same as the words of the song. The story starts when a monster gets on the bus. Then the bus gets lots of people in it - it was too loud in the bus. At last, the monster gets off the bus and wants to take a taxi instead. I sing this book instead of reading the book - it is funny.

[Kate M. Colby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jack borrowed this book from the Oxford Public Library. I picked it because he loves The Wheels on the Bus song.

While he hasn't been interested in reading new books as much lately, singing the song got him to give this book a try. As always, he loved the part where the babies cry and the parents shush them. But he looked disappointed that many parts of the book didn't follow the traditional song, and since we don't watch Sesame Street, I don't think he really "got" those sections.

[Shannon]

This is a fun variation on the wheels on the bus, with some poor guy having a terrible, noisy and messy day on the city bus. However, I feel like this cover is a bait and switch. Elmo is featured prominently on the cover, but he does not appear in the book at all. This really upset my daughter at first, because she was expecting Elmo to star (so were we).

[Mariah Blair · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a really cute spin on the typical "The Wheels on the Bus" song. My 4 year old loved it! It had the different Sesame Street characters doing different things on the bus. Perfect for any young Sesame Street and Wheels on the Bus fans!

[Abby · Rating 5 out of 5]

The silly Sesame Street version of the classic Wheels on the Bus song. It's my youngest's favorite song and now favorite book. My older one has it memorized to read with her and it's one of the few books I don't get tired of repeating.

[Andrea · Rating 2 out of 5]

Cute book, but not really what I was expecting. Basically it's the song "The Wheels on the Bus" with Cookie Monster, Big Bird, Grover, etc added." Nothing really special but kids should enjoy it and adults will probably enjoy "singing along" to the words.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

We used this for our Halloween Monster-themed story time at the library, and the preschoolers loved singing along with the text and laughing at all the hilarious monsters and animals. It was such a cute story for young ones!

[Nicole · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my nephew’s favorite song is Wheels on the Bus, so this was a cute rendition of that. Sesame Street wasn’t my favorite show growing up, but I like Cookie Monster. The art wasn’t anything special, it’s what you’d expect. I’d probably give this 3.5-4 out of 5 stars.

[JoAlice · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute story

[Little Seesaw · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Sesame Street books are so much fun with such good little stories. Sunny days, sweeping the clouds away, I guess it takes me back to the only thing that was on TV for kids when I was a kid.

[Kaylen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The yip yip yip and the oom-pah-pah did it for me! Love this version of the wheels on the bus!

[Karis Welsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my absolute favorite version of the wheels on the bus. My favorite page is the radio on the bus.

[Patrick · Rating 2 out of 5]

For those really into the Sesame Street world - others should look elsewhere

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a gift from Cam's gramma and poppa and we love it! Hilarious!

[Kate O'Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

A unique take on The Wheels on the Bus song, as only muppets could.

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a bus ride

[Jason Ortega · Rating 5 out of 5]

A favorite song made sillier?? Say less.

[Sven Robertson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wheels on the Bus is one of those classic songs that most kids know. After singing it with my daughter for the 75,834th time, we started making up our own lyrics. While I wanted to use more realistic lyrics that reflect my own experiences on public transport, we usually would add things that would make sense to someone about to begin kindergarten. Then I ordered this ebook because my daughter loves "Monster at the End of this Book." She is not a Sesame Street fan, but I figured she would still get a kick out of the book even if she did not recognize most of the characters. She and I both enjoy this book.

SPOILER WARNING! READ PAST THIS POINT ONLY IF YOU WANT THE PLOT RUINED

Each page contains some variation of Wheels on the Bus lyrics, including some of the usual verses (e.g., wipers, driver, etc.). However, we also have new ones such as the little alien muppets who make vweep sounds and other such hijinks. My favorite part of the book are the pictures. They chronicle the plight of the common man who just wants to make it to work. On the first page the man gets on the bus in the rain and just wants to read his newspaper in peace. We start with minor inconveniences like water dripping on his paper or Cookie Monster getting crumbs all over. Then you see the man's ride becoming more and more surreal as chaos ensues. The man eventually decides to just get off of the bus and take a cab. I can relate.

My daughter loves the variation in the lyrics, and I like the spin on the story. It's good fun.

[Pinky · Rating 3 out of 5]

The bus keeps on rolling through Sesame Street getting monsters to where they need to be.