Bus Stops

I bought this book for my son after seeing it in the library. I have a used board book version, which is in FANTASTIC condition. I find this book is EXTREMELY durable, and would recommend getting a used one if this is for your own child.

My son was ONE when we purchased it, and loved it enough to ask for it every day for several months. Now he's almost 2.5, it was at the bottom of the pile for awhile, but now he loves it all over again. WE both love the colorful pictures, and there are cute things to look for, things that you may not notice the first few times you go through it. LIke the driver in one car has a somewhat angry expression, like he wants to run over the lady that is crossing the street. I think it's funny, it's not obvious and cruel, just something that as a grown up, you may notice, that flies over the child's head. Or like, on the hospital page, the patients are Green... get it? green, sick? Too cute! ANd one guy is wrapped up in bandages like a mummy from head to toe. Each page has things it asks you to point out. But you can easily find more things for the child to notice. My son just loves it. I think it is especially appealling to kids that like cars, trucks and busses. But girls will like it too... it's not full of those things, but there are enough of them in there. It is so colorful, and it's fun to ask the child to find an orange car, or a yellow house. There's even a little kitty cat wandering in the crowd on the marketplace page.

This is a very sweet book for a child... I'd say from One - Four years old, but I have no doubt mine love it enough to thumb through it himself when he's older, or maybe it will be a book he learns to read from. Great overall, I'd say one of our top 10 books! It's my favorite book in the "it doesn't have a deep message, and doesn't rhyme" category.

We have many Taro Gomi books, in both English and Japanese. His graphics are always amazing, and this gem is at the top of the list. The English translation here is great (as opposed to the dreadful "Where's the Fish?"), and my child loves the story of the bus as is winds through town. Especially nice is the touch near the end, where WE get off the bus at our house, placing the child into the story, then the driver gets off the bus at the end. Cute and snappy, a work of art that will engage child and parent alike.

My daughter has loved this book since she was a year old. At 2.5 years she still loves seeing where the bus goes on its route, who gets off, who misses the bus...She loves to answer the simple questions on each page. (Parents can always ask different questions when they get bored). The text and pictures are just right for the pre-speaking to pre-school age child. There is something on every page to captivate even the youngest child yet, there are so many interesting little details that older children remain interested. And for parents, get this, the bus stops at a movie set and who's in the director's chair but Akira Kurosawa with his white hat and sunglasses. Oh and who's that bearded actor? Toshiro Mifune. No kidding. This book is THAT cool.

My 20-month old loves this book, and with good reason. It's a fantastic example of a book that can grow with a toddler; at first he was most interested in the buses, then started noticing the cars, moved onto the trees, and now loves all the little people. It's a sweet book, gentle in tone. My toddler will spend 15 minutes at a time reading this one with me.

I frequently give this book as a baby gift, and get reports back that it always becomes the baby's top favorite book, the one they want to read everyday over and over - and since it's mostly a visual book that lets the child explore objects and places, and has art-quality illustrations, parents enjoy it too. Taro Gomi's books don't aggressively teach, but just let a small child wander slowly and curiously through the pages, noticing things of interest, always discovering new details.