Here Comes the Bus!

by Carolyn Haywood

Jonathan's experiences going to school and riding the school bus.

Genres: Historical, Childrens

186 pages, Board Book

First published January 1, 1963

About the author

Carolyn Haywood was an American writer and illustrator of children’s books, best known for her beloved “Eddie” and “Betsy” series, which captured everyday childhood with warmth and authenticity. Raised in a supportive, middle-class Philadelphia family, she developed her artistic talents early, studying art and later working as a teacher, an experience that inspired her to write for young readers. After formal training in fine arts and travel in Europe, she worked on murals before turning fully to books. Her debut, “B” is for Betsy, appeared in 1939, launching a prolific career built on close observation of children’s lives and feelings, continuing for decades.

Reviews

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan is ready to start school, and he is thrilled to be taking a school bus driven by a man who looks just like the milkman he knew when he lived in the city. Over the course of the year, Rus, as the children call the driver, proves to be a dedicated friend to the children on his route, as he rescues a birthday cake, saves kids from a snowbank, transports pets, and even takes the class out to select a Christmas tree.

Carolyn Haywood wrote a lot of books about school, but this one stood out for me because it revolves around not the school itself, but the school bus. I lived so close to my elementary and middle schools growing up that I only took the bus in kindergarten and in high school, and there was always an air of mystery surrounding what actually happened during those bus rides to and from school. As a kid, this book would have been fascinating to me for that reason alone.

What I enjoyed about it now, as an adult, however, was the character of Rus himself. While all of the characters of the story are well-developed, and the kids act just like a classroom full of first graders would act in real life, there is something especially endearing about a bus driver who goes to such great lengths to make sure his riders have a good year in school. That's not to say this is a book that goes out of its way to hold up Rus as a hero - instead, it winds up being an interesting look at the work of a bus driver with a focus on all the little details that are especially fascinating to young kids. Just as she does with Mr. Kilpatrick, the crossing guard in her beloved Betsy series, Haywood creates in Rus an adult that kids can admire and relate to at the same time.

Here Comes the Bus! would be a perfect back-to-school read-aloud for families preparing to send a child on the bus for the first time, or for teachers hoping to break the ice at the start of the school year. It's also a good choice for a transportation-obsessed preschooler who is ready to hear chapter books, as the bus is the main setting of all the action.

This review also appears on my blog, Read-at-Home Mom.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is a cute chapter book that I think would work well as a read aloud for kindergarten or first grade. The main character, Jonathan is five but in the first grade. He has recently moved to the country and will be riding the school bus. He worries over if the bus driver will be nice. He meets Melissa who he calls Molasses and so she becomes known as Melissa Molasses. Her younger brother Taffy also gets introduced in the story. These three become the focal point of a future story, Taffy and Melissa Molasses. This story takes place from Oct to June and revolves around the school bus and its driver Rus who resembles the milkman where Jonathan moved from.

There are exciting events, a missing birthday cake, a bus full of pets heading to a pet show at school, a field trip to pick out a Christmas tree for the classroom, and others. It is a pleasant read with only a few outdated words, that have changed meaning (queer feeling-nerves, rubbers-rain boots). Someone is called "fatso," a boy punches a scarecrow pumpkin man on the bus. Jon repeatedly asserts his independence in the story and it is a time period with much less parental oversight. Jon's mom is in the story a little, his father 1-2 times.

[Carolien]

4 stars