The Bus For Us

by Suzanne Bloom

On her first day of school, Tess wonders what the school bus will look like. Geared for Grade 2.3.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, School, Transport, Childrens, Back To School, Fiction

Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

A classic for this time of year! So well done the toddlers could not keep their hands off of it during story time. 8/31/11

Used it during PJ time and Laptime again this year. 8/12

Used in Lap Time after The Babies on the Bus again. 8/27/14

Used for TEC back to school story time for PreK's. Big hit. 8/11/15

Used in Lap Time again and the short text makes it seem appropriate, but I think it is a bigger hit with preschoolers. Though one toddler got a hit out of saying "No!" 8/22/17

This was not as big a hit and I even had some older siblings... 8/26/19

Huge hit with the 3 year old day care class

[Stephanie Chiaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Bus for Us is a book about a little girl, who appears to be with her older brother and has never ridden the school bus before. She asks as each vehicle passes by, "Is this the bus for us, Gus?" and the boy responds with "No, Tess. This is a," fill-in-the-blank. The book goes on like this for several pages and eventually ends with the obvious "Yes, Tess. This is the bus for us. Let's go!" But the book is anything except obvious. While the adults key in on the dialogue of the book, the reading portion, which is very simple, they miss the second story, a wordless story, happening in the illustrations. The illustrations start of with Tess and Gus, who had arrived to the bus stop before any of the other children had. Already, those noticing the illustrations might have caught that Tess and Gus don't look like average siblings (and maybe they're not). Tess looks like she may be from Asian descent and Gus looks to have an African American lineage (or maybe that's just me). On the next page, along comes a girl who appears to be Irish, also waiting for the bus. She holds on to her lunch bag and waits, patiently for two pages. Next, arrives a girl who appears to have yet another cultural background, Muslim. A dog follows her to the bus stop, and the girl who appears to be Irish hands the dog a sandwich. Next to arrive is a boy with a box, which turns out to be holding a turtle, meanwhile the dog has completely devoured the Irish girl's lunch, while a cat lingers in the background. Another boy arrives, a friend of the turtle bringer, reading a book, and the students play with the turtle, letting him out of the box as the cat creeps up on the dog. The turtle bringer gets distracted, high-fiving his friend, the book reader, leaving the turtle unsupervised, while the cat gets scared, seeing how the dog has noticed its presence. The turtle gets out of the box, and the dog chases the cat as two girls watch in horror. The turtle inches towards the Irish girl's lunch bag as the dog runs away and another girl, a music player, arrives with her band instrument and cowboy boots. The turtle enters the Irish girl's lunch bag as another girl with glasses arrives. The Irish girl hands the turtle bringer his turtle in her lunch bag, which he puts back in his box, while another boy arrives and starts signing to the music player girl. The students line up the last time Tess asks her famous question, while Gus, exhausted, has lost all hope, but this time, the bus actually does arrive, and Gus couldn't have been happier. One after one, the kids pile on in as one final boy arrives. And by the way, until the bus arrived, all of this happened without Tess and Gus's knowledge, as the two were too distracted with their dialogue.
In case you were wondering, eight students arrived after Tess and Gus, all with their unique, diverse trait, whether it be Irish, Muslim, turtle-friendly, book reader, music player, wears glasses, deaf, or the late-comer, every human on this planet is different in some way, and I love that Bloom, author and illustrator of the book, captured that neutrally, without any option of opinion or negative connotation. Next, I love how the author wanted a wordless story to take place, secretly, for the children, who are more likely to be studying the pictures, while the adults, who otherwise, would have thought this book is repetitive and has been done before, paid more attention to the story the words told. I don't have any critiques. I actually found the book to have a certain charm, and this is definitely a book I will be adding to my "will be reading aloud" shelf for my students.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Is this the bus for us, Gus?"
"No Tess, it's a _______"
goes through a bunch of different kinds of vehicles until it's "Yes Tess it is the bus for us!" It's cute and simple, and Lola could read it after a few times. And it has a girl named Tess!

[Madison Crawford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nuestro Autobús, The Bus for Us was written and illustrated by Suzanne Bloom. It is a good book for children in preschool or kindergarten. The book teaches Tess, the main character, what a school bus looks like. It goes through many different automobiles and then the school bus comes for them. It is good for first year students that must ride the bus because it teaches them what a school bus is. The genre of this story is realistic fiction. Overall this is definitely a book you should read to young children entering preschool or kindergarten.

[Shelby Santullo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is very simple and repetitive, so it would be a good book to use when children are learning English or how to learn to read for the first time. The story is about a girl name Tess who is asking Gus if each vehicle that passes by is the bus. He continues to tell her no until the actually bus shows up. She mistakes a taxi, tow truck, firetruck, and etc. for the bus. I really did like how the pictures show many people from different ethnicities though.

[Alicia Evans · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this for my Transportation storytime this week. I liked that we saw a wide range of vehicles and transportation and that the readers has a chance to try and guess what the vehicle is using context clues, but it got pretty repetitive even for me.

For: readers looking for a book with a lot of repetition or various modes of transportation.

Red flags: Some readers may find this very tedious.

[Bernice Seward · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book has great repetition and predictability for young readers. The illustrations are fun, as is the assortment of different vehicles which go by and the variety of kids who come as Tess and Gus wait for the bus. There is no real storyline here, though, and the book felt like it dragged on a bit too long.

[Adrianna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short and simple. An funny little way for young kids to learn about different types of vehicles. I'm sure I'll hate it by the 50th time my kids have me read it but for now I'm quite charmed by it. It's fun to watch a funny sort of "sub-plot" unfold via the illustrations and seeing Gus try his hardest to remain patient with Tess.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this book. I used at storytime it with a group of 2 year olds and thier caregivers and it went well - and I think I could have had it go even better if it hadn't been a last minute substitution that I had not only skimmed beforehand. There are lines that repeat and also an opportunity for guessing - although I think the guessing would be more successful and meaningful for older kids.

[Jennifer Dixon · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was one I really enjoyed. It took me back to my childhood with the fear and the joy that comes with your first day at school and how you get/got there. Great way to teach about school buses and discuss how each child gets to school. Would use for Pre-k to kindergarten.

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This rhyming book follows a young girl as she mistakes other vehicles for her school bus as she excitedly waits for it to arrive. This picture book has a nice rhythm for reading aloud. My storytime kids seemed to really enjoy it.

[Alyssa Galip · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the book could have been more creative. Although the pictures were well set up and I liked that it was in a different language with the words written in English under it. I would probably not recommend this book.

[Margaret Gardner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun rhyming and easy to incorporate a flannel story! Plus the kids can ask with me, "Is this the bus for us, Gus?"

[Mary Peble · Rating 4 out of 5]

Children will have fun anticipating what vehicle is coming up on the next page.

[Kitty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This got annoying fast but was actually kind of cute. My favorite part is my toddler saying “no!” On each page. Lots of different people and vehicles.

[Samantha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great toddler storytime book.

[DiAnne Warfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

Preschool story time 9-17-19

[Katelynne · Rating 4 out of 5]

x

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Is this the bus for us? Each page has a little preview of the vehicle that will be revealed on the next page, and more and more kids arrive waiting for the bus. Simple and classic.

[Brandon]

Purchased at Kids Ink prior to Fall Break 2016 w/ Jim and Nolan.

[Eva Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Boy, am I glad I don’t have to go to school on a BUS. Mama’s little sister Maggie has to take the school bus and it takes a WHOLE HALF HOUR to get to school, and she HATES it and who can blame her?
If she did HOMESCHOOL, she’d be THERE already. HAHAHA!
Maybe Mimi needs to think about that.
Anyway, it still might be fun to go on a school bus a couple times so who knows? Maybe I can try it when I’m in high school or college or something.
Oh! You know what else was good? Was that the BUS STOP sign in this book kept CHANGING. It said all these silly things like SUB POTS and BUS SPOT and all that. Every page, that sign was different!
And all the different trucks they showed were cool, so that part was O.K., too.
This one was fine, I guess. It’s another one of those stories where they try to make you feel better about something lousy that you have to do. So if you ride the school bus, you still have to do it, but maybe if you think about this book it’ll make you less depressed.
But I’ll still take HOMESCHOOL!

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read at Baby/Toddler Story Time on 4/5/11: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read during preschool class visit on 9/19/12: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Pajama Story Time on 1/23/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Drop-In Story Time on 9/6/13: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

Read at Preschool Story Time on 11/30/16: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Becky Birtha · Rating 4 out of 5]

This delightful picture book is one that beginning readers will be able to read for themselves, with plenty of repetition, picture clues, and a mystery at every page-turn. The multicultural cast of kids and their antics while waiting in line for the bus was fun. The setting is urban, and there are plenty of vehicles, for kids who like trucks. Since the two main characters, Gus and Tess, do not look alike but act like brother and sister, I'd recommend this one for families in which there are siblings of different races, whether through adoption or birth.

[Mist · Rating 5 out of 5]

I arrived at a story time late one day and the librarian was reading the last few pages of this book. From those few pages, I knew my son would love it. So, we have read the book over ten times over the past 3 days. It is a very simple story; however, you can find a lot to talk about with the pictures. It helps with prediction and memorization skills. If you are teaching your child to be bilingual, I feel that this is a fairly simple book to translate on the go. Overall, My 2 year old and I really like it. If your child is obsessed with cars, definitely give this book a try!

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suzanne Bloom's effervescent spirit comes through as a little girl waits anxiously for her bus and her friend patiently waits with her all the while identifying the various vehicles that pass by. Lovely spirit to this book and lovely illustrations as well.
This book is the 2013 PA One Book Every Young Child selection. Most public libraries in Pennsylvania will have a trunk of related materials/toys that they can check out with this book selection. For more information about the 2013 book selection or past selections, go to http://www.paonebook.org/

[Kandice Buck · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a book that children will love to read. It is about a little girl and her first time on the bus. She is with her brother and asks every time when she sees a form of transportation ff that is their bus. She grows tired while waiting but eventually the bus arrives. I personally like this book and think children will love it. However, other than reading it the first day of school to children to help relate to the ones who rode the bus, I don't think I would read this book to use for instruction. This is a book to read for fun with the children when we need a little break/fun time.

[Kassidy · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a pattern book about Tess and Gus who are waiting for the school bus. Every vehicle that passes, Tess asks Gus if it is the "bus for us." Each time, Gus says, "no, that's a tractor" or "no, that's a truck."
I didn't really enjoy this book because it didn't seem very unique. It was kind of a dull story and so repetitive that it got annoying. The illustrations weren't even cute to make up for the lack of good writing.

[Neil Nicholson]

This is a good story to work on predicting.As Gus and Tess wait for the bus, they see a lot of other interesting vehicles. The bus was driven by a man named Mack. The book is good for predicting because the pictures always give a clue as to what kind of vehicle they will see next. After this story, teachers can make a bar graph of different ways that students use to get to and from school. I would recommend this book for prek through 1st grade.

[Bethann · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was not one of my favorites. I felt like it was very boring, and I kept repeating myself a lot. I do not think it would keep many kid's interest in a class room, especially if they were older. It would, however be a good book for children to start off reading by their selves. It repeats it self enough that the kids would eventually get the hang of it. The book is simple enough they would understand it on their own. Good idea, just not that interesting.

[Katie Morris · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is about a young girl, Tess, who is so excited about her first day of school that she continuously is asking "Is this the bus for us, Gus?" when each vehicle approaches them.
I would use this book in my classroom to talk about predictions and also having my students find the changes that are made to solitary objects in the illustrations.