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The Seals on the Bus
This hilarious new version of the beloved children's song "The Wheels on the Bus" will have young readers errping and roaring and honking along.
"The seals on the bus go "errp, errp, errp"
All through the town."
Two children and their parents board a city bus on their way to a party. At the next stop, who should get on but a group of seals, who holler "errp, errp, errp" at the top of their lungs. Each time the bus stops a new kind of animal joins the passengers and adds to the din, to the children's delight and the parents' annoyance. But when several hissing skunks want to come aboard, even the children cry "help! help! help!"
"The seals on the bus go "errp, errp, errp"
All through the town."
Two children and their parents board a city bus on their way to a party. At the next stop, who should get on but a group of seals, who holler "errp, errp, errp" at the top of their lungs. Each time the bus stops a new kind of animal joins the passengers and adds to the din, to the children's delight and the parents' annoyance. But when several hissing skunks want to come aboard, even the children cry "help! help! help!"
32 pages, Hardcover
First published April 1, 2000
14 people are currently reading
1130 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews
October 10, 2025
A silly spin on the old children's song allows for lots of fun making animal sounds all around the town.
I first read this book to my daughter when she was one, and it's current condition tells me we came back to it many, many times thereafter.
I first read this book to my daughter when she was one, and it's current condition tells me we came back to it many, many times thereafter.
May 12, 2016
Worked well for baby rhyme time, but probably better for those a little older. With my group, I usually have several older siblings, so it was still good for the whole crowd. I really enjoyed this book. The illustrations are my favorite part, with the looks of terror and surprise on everyone's faces at all the animals on the bus. And also at the end when the adults say, "help, help, help!". Very funny.
February 3, 2021
Great picture book variation on The Wheels on the Bus. Kids will get a kick out of singing along and guessing what comes next. A loud and fun read.
September 30, 2018
Oh my goodness, do my students ever love this book! It is a great read-aloud/sharing story that will have everyone singing.
December 7, 2016
This is perfect for Animal Sounds! Fun, engaging, and playing on a familiar song. The pictures are as entertaining as the idea each page brings across.
3/2/10 & 3/4/10: Both groups loved this book. Parents sang along in both groups. The larger Tuesday crowd got a little riled from it, but they really enjoyed it. With the smaller Thursday group I had learned to slow down and ask some questions to involve the children even more than in just the singing of the new sounds. (And the shy girl sang along the whole time!) My throat is definitely feeling the after-effects of trying to sing Roars, Eeehs, Baaas, and Sssses.
2/22/12 For a "Let's Laugh" theme, these kids caught on immediately with the title being different. They were very much into joining me on the animals sounds. A couple in the first, larger group sang along with me, but most were happy with making the sounds and looking at the pictures. Good thing the book was easy to remember, because then I could just keep showing the pictures instead of having to put the book to the side with each page turn so I could read it. I didn't sing extremely loudly in either storytime, because I wanted to save my voice. But the kids were enthusiastic enough in joining that I didn't need to worry about that.
2/19/14: For "That's Crazy" theme. All the books were good, but this may have been the favorite because you could sing the song. And they loved singing along to it. Hard to tell which animal was their favorite, but their faces with the vipers was priceless.
12/7/16 Used in preschool "Silliness theme. This is such a fun book to read/sing. The kids love it and have so much fun with it. I had the perfect crowd for all the books I chose, and we all had a great time.
3/2/10 & 3/4/10: Both groups loved this book. Parents sang along in both groups. The larger Tuesday crowd got a little riled from it, but they really enjoyed it. With the smaller Thursday group I had learned to slow down and ask some questions to involve the children even more than in just the singing of the new sounds. (And the shy girl sang along the whole time!) My throat is definitely feeling the after-effects of trying to sing Roars, Eeehs, Baaas, and Sssses.
2/22/12 For a "Let's Laugh" theme, these kids caught on immediately with the title being different. They were very much into joining me on the animals sounds. A couple in the first, larger group sang along with me, but most were happy with making the sounds and looking at the pictures. Good thing the book was easy to remember, because then I could just keep showing the pictures instead of having to put the book to the side with each page turn so I could read it. I didn't sing extremely loudly in either storytime, because I wanted to save my voice. But the kids were enthusiastic enough in joining that I didn't need to worry about that.
2/19/14: For "That's Crazy" theme. All the books were good, but this may have been the favorite because you could sing the song. And they loved singing along to it. Hard to tell which animal was their favorite, but their faces with the vipers was priceless.
12/7/16 Used in preschool "Silliness theme. This is such a fun book to read/sing. The kids love it and have so much fun with it. I had the perfect crowd for all the books I chose, and we all had a great time.
February 28, 2016
This book gets a really strong 4 from me. It's a good quality book and story. I enjoyed the book, at the same time, it didn't blow me over either... But it's definitely a book I could see having fun reading to - and with - preschoolers or kindergartners.
As one might expect from the book's title, "The Seals on the Bus" is a play on the traditionally well-know children's song - "The Wheels on the Bus". I like how this book uses animals (and animal sounds and noises) to enhance this particular bus ride - the story.
I think it's well-written and simple to follow. Also, the illustrations are solid.
Some details I noticed include:
* It was fun to see the several different animals this book included. By the title - and cover - it would appear there are just people and seals on the bus. This is far from true. As you read, and as the bus makes each stop, other animals join the mix. I could see young kids really getting a kick out of this!
* I like the spacing and the font used in "The Seals on the Bus". The large font, accompanying clearly drawn illustrations (thorough, yet not overly busy in my opinion) make it very clean and easy to follow.
* It was fun to see the kids' reactions, as opposed to the parents'. For example, the kids enjoy laying on the soft wool of the sheep and watching the monkeys fly around - I'd reference the page numbers, but there are none given.
As one might expect from the book's title, "The Seals on the Bus" is a play on the traditionally well-know children's song - "The Wheels on the Bus". I like how this book uses animals (and animal sounds and noises) to enhance this particular bus ride - the story.
I think it's well-written and simple to follow. Also, the illustrations are solid.
Some details I noticed include:
* It was fun to see the several different animals this book included. By the title - and cover - it would appear there are just people and seals on the bus. This is far from true. As you read, and as the bus makes each stop, other animals join the mix. I could see young kids really getting a kick out of this!
* I like the spacing and the font used in "The Seals on the Bus". The large font, accompanying clearly drawn illustrations (thorough, yet not overly busy in my opinion) make it very clean and easy to follow.
* It was fun to see the kids' reactions, as opposed to the parents'. For example, the kids enjoy laying on the soft wool of the sheep and watching the monkeys fly around - I'd reference the page numbers, but there are none given.
October 12, 2010
A jaunty spin on the song "The Wheels on the Bus," this delightfully silly sing-along, read-aloud picture book is sure to amuse youngsters & animal aficionados alike. Seals, of course, do not go round & round like their predecessors the wheels. They go "errp errp errp." The tiger on the bus goes "roar roar roar," & the geese go "honk honk honk." When the many rabbits on the bus go "up and down," complete mayhem erupts, as, by this time, the bus is filled with seals, rabbits, geese, & a tiger. What? Room for a monkey & vipers, too? Sheep, & even skunks? In the end, the people on the bus--crowded by the motley menagerie--go "help help help!" G. Brian Karas, illustrator, infuses winsome charm into his simple compositions, peppered with cut-up newspaper bits & salted with hilarity. A read-aloud must-have! - Karin Snelson
(Goodreads Summary)
The Seals on the Bus is a sure-fire story time read-aloud hit that I have used numerous times. Hort's text provides great opportunities for listeners to help make the animals sounds and various actions. Karas's illustrations are perfectly frenetic showing each animal making it's trademark sound or action among the human bus passengers. For ages 4 to 7.
(Goodreads Summary)
The Seals on the Bus is a sure-fire story time read-aloud hit that I have used numerous times. Hort's text provides great opportunities for listeners to help make the animals sounds and various actions. Karas's illustrations are perfectly frenetic showing each animal making it's trademark sound or action among the human bus passengers. For ages 4 to 7.
June 16, 2010
The clever idea of this book got me to bring it home to read to Natalie, but I was a little disappointed with how well it was executed. The silly aspect of all the animals on the bus was great and I liked that there was a nice mix of animals (I get so bored with cows, ducks, and horses). But, I liked the use of "seals" instead of "wheels" and found that the other animals weren't as clever. I also thought that the sounds could have matched better. The "hiss" of the snakes was a bit like the "whish" of the wipers, but then the "sss" of the skunk was so similar. I know its just a kids book, but thinking it through a little more would have brought this from okay, to excellent for me. Another draw back was that I didn't exactly like that the people said "help." It made it sound like the animals were scary, which didn't go with the illustrations, when only one man seemed to be bothered by the animals.
May 28, 2014
Brief summary A bus full of animals retell the classic wheels on the bus.
Annotation - a fun rendition of the classic that is fun for both the reader and the child
Age appropriateness - This is good for children 0-5 years
Connection to six early literacy skills
Print Motivation - This is a fun story to retell and sing.
Phonological awareness - the sing song rhythm makes it easy to hear the various sounds.
Opinion - This is a fun book to read aloud and you can add animals if you like but it is pretty good the way it is.
Annotation - a fun rendition of the classic that is fun for both the reader and the child
Age appropriateness - This is good for children 0-5 years
Connection to six early literacy skills
Print Motivation - This is a fun story to retell and sing.
Phonological awareness - the sing song rhythm makes it easy to hear the various sounds.
Opinion - This is a fun book to read aloud and you can add animals if you like but it is pretty good the way it is.
December 22, 2020
A ridiculous wild animal version of the traditional "Wheels on the Bus" song. Young listeners enjoy participating in each verse -- acting out the parts of the seals, tiger, geese, sheep, monkeys, snakes, skunks, and especially the final verse with the people on the bus yelling "HELP, HELP, HELP!" A good choice for preschool story time.
September 8, 2017
Fun book to make animal noises to. However, I was a bit let down when I realized that it wasn't just the seals on the bus. The other animals....boring. A busload of seals would have made such a better story. Ha!
October 15, 2018
A rollicking ride on the bus with animals!
October 17, 2017
Different animals--including seals, tigers, geese, rabbits, monkeys, and more--make their own sounds as they ride all around the town on a bus. Awesome to use in Storytime!
February 27, 2017
No awards.
This book is for ages pre-k to first grade.
This book takes a classic nursery rhyme and turns it into something new. This book is all about different types of animals including seals, geese, rabbits, skunks and more that go onto the bus. The book still has the same rhyme pattern as the original but it just as animals in it. This is a fun book to have and it can be very interactive with the students. One thing the book doesn't mention is where are all these animals going. Are they going just for a ride or do they have a place to be? Either way this is a fun book to read!
This book is a great spin on the classic nursery rhyme The Wheels On The Bus. It is different than the original and it makes it more fun to read. I also like how on every page when a different animals comes on the bus the people have different reactions to each one. When the sheep came on the bus the people were so happy and laid on the fluffy sheep fur. But when the skunks came on the bus the people looked like they were going to be sick because it smelled so bad. Having this book be turned into something different than the original nursery rhyme makes it more unique and fun.
In the classroom the teacher can use this book while using a felt board. The teacher can have a bus and all the different animals and when each animal is said a student can move the animal on the bus on the board. Another way to use this in the classroom is to read the book to the class and then come up with hand signals to go with each animals like sign language. This way the next time the children read the book they can follow along with their hands.
This book is for ages pre-k to first grade.
This book takes a classic nursery rhyme and turns it into something new. This book is all about different types of animals including seals, geese, rabbits, skunks and more that go onto the bus. The book still has the same rhyme pattern as the original but it just as animals in it. This is a fun book to have and it can be very interactive with the students. One thing the book doesn't mention is where are all these animals going. Are they going just for a ride or do they have a place to be? Either way this is a fun book to read!
This book is a great spin on the classic nursery rhyme The Wheels On The Bus. It is different than the original and it makes it more fun to read. I also like how on every page when a different animals comes on the bus the people have different reactions to each one. When the sheep came on the bus the people were so happy and laid on the fluffy sheep fur. But when the skunks came on the bus the people looked like they were going to be sick because it smelled so bad. Having this book be turned into something different than the original nursery rhyme makes it more unique and fun.
In the classroom the teacher can use this book while using a felt board. The teacher can have a bus and all the different animals and when each animal is said a student can move the animal on the bus on the board. Another way to use this in the classroom is to read the book to the class and then come up with hand signals to go with each animals like sign language. This way the next time the children read the book they can follow along with their hands.
March 13, 2021
I liked its comparison to the song of “the wheels on the bus got “round and round” all through the town,” but instead it was "The seals on the bus go "errp, errp, errp", all around the town." It was really interesting reading “The Seals on the Bus’” because it was a repetition of the phrase that is a common known song for children which makes it more attention grabbing for the students that will read it. Every time the bus would stop another animal got on with different sounds that were made. First it was the seals, then the tigers, the geese, the rabbits, the monkeys, the snakes, the shep, and lastly the skunks. For every animal the only thing that would change in the reading was the sound they made. At the end the people are the ones going along and putting “help” in for the sound they were making. Throughout the reading since I can just think of the rhythm of the song I read it as a song. It was a good book for students learning about the sounds of animals.
November 28, 2018
The Seals on the Bus is a version of wheels on the bus that is a bit different from the one most of us know; this one features animals! This book is whacky and fun to read with children. It can be read normally or sung like the original song. Personally, I prefer to sing it as speaking it just feels weird and wrong. There is a wider variety of animals present throughout the book and some humans too. Young children get a chance to work on animal sounds throughout the book and they will likely laugh at the surprise ending. The rhyme scheme is fun and the use of repetition during every verse makes it easy for children to join in and read/sing along!
March 19, 2019
What fun! A new adventure for those familiar with the routine Wheels on the Bus. Now we have different animals whose additions crowd the bus with their noises and presence causing the adults to plead for help at the end. The kids know the story so it is easy for them to jump in and produce the sounds. The pictures of the animals squishing the people on the bus and causing a ruckus like the skunks and snakes was very funny. I would not want to be the bus driver on that run.
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January 5, 2021This was a beloved favorite read out loud during my Storytime days. I recently bought it for my toddlers and noticed that there are a few illustrative choices that I found problematic. All of the people are white and afraid in this what I see as a city bus. The monkeys and the tiger are the only animals with clothing. The monkey at the bus stop with a little red backpack especially reads like a child.
January 16, 2017
The Seals on the Bus by Hort_ Lenny - Karas_ G. Brian
Cute children's story about all kinds of animals and how their sounds and actions in the bus make them go all around the town.
Children will like learning what sounds the animals make.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
Cute children's story about all kinds of animals and how their sounds and actions in the bus make them go all around the town.
Children will like learning what sounds the animals make.
I received this book from National Library Service for my BARD (Braille Audio Reading Device).
March 9, 2017
Award:
Grade:Toddler
Summary: Everyone knows "The wheels on the bus". This is an adorable version that has cute little seals. Perfect for young children.
Review: A sweet little twist on a classic song for children. It has adorable illustrations. Definitely a good book.
Uses:
•Teach about seals
•Teach about listening
•Teach about parts of the bus
Grade:Toddler
Summary: Everyone knows "The wheels on the bus". This is an adorable version that has cute little seals. Perfect for young children.
Review: A sweet little twist on a classic song for children. It has adorable illustrations. Definitely a good book.
Uses:
•Teach about seals
•Teach about listening
•Teach about parts of the bus
July 26, 2017
This is absolutely adorable and very funny, too. My only complaint is the classic one for Fox in Socks: it's very easy to get tongue-tied when reading it aloud. (Of course, most little kids seem to enjoy that part too...)
May 30, 2018
I LOVE this book!!!!! It's a fun rewrite to the Wheels on the bus that everyone will enjoy! I plan on reading this to my Toddler Tales this summer during Summer Quest (Summer Reading). The illustrations are great as well! I love the characters faces when something goes wrong. Great story time read!
April 29, 2021
A laugh-out-loud rendition that puts a "twist" on the classic song ("The Wheels on the Bus"); perfect for engaging young listeners/readers in an interactive storytime
Publication Date: 2000
Elements: Lyrical text (can be sung aloud); onomatopoeia
Connection/Topics: Animals, sounds; "twist" on the classic song
Publication Date: 2000
Elements: Lyrical text (can be sung aloud); onomatopoeia
Connection/Topics: Animals, sounds; "twist" on the classic song
May 10, 2017
Such a cute book. This would be great for a story time, if the kids in the group like to interact with the books. You could get them to make the noises along with the animals. And the kids at my library LOVE The Wheels on the Bus, so this might be making an appearance at my story time soon!
December 6, 2017
Good story time read aloud - everyone already knows this tune! Fun animal noises, and the twist ending is great. Even at baby toddler story time, someone can usually point out why the people on the bus might want help!
August 19, 2019
I just finished it for the same week and i really enjoyed it. I loved how at first the storylines didn't seem to have anything to do with each other but slowly details were revealed to show how they are all connected.
August 18, 2020
Any kids who love Wheels on the Bus, will love this silly rendition where seals, and tigers and geese take over the bus. And be sure to pay close attention to the pictures...to see them really take over....
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May 6, 2021i think this story has a fun and creative twist on the classic wheels on the bus, and it would be nice to use within a classroom. Shows diversity and creativity on stories you might normally see in a classroom setting.
November 18, 2021
Kids loved this book! It is easy to sing along too, the pictures are big, and there isn't a lot text on each page. The kids were super engaged, and parents and kids loved the ending with "the people on the bus go help! help! help!". Everyone had fun with the book.
September 17, 2024
Like the song, "Wheels on the Bus", but with animals! I loved it and so did the kids I read it to. Illustrations are okay. They're kind of an old style which makes sense since it was published in 2000. If the illustrations would be updated it would be a hella cute book.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 173 reviews