SUPER BUS

An old school bus proves its worth when kids get stranded during a winter storm.

Cooper's illustrated children's book offers a key takeaway for young readers: Look beyond appearances; what’s inside is much more important. In this upbeat story, an overworked, status-conscious mayor appoints a popular elementary teacher to the position of superintendent of schools. As long as the teacher can still visit his students, he’s happy to do the job—in fact, he finds everything “super,” even the fleet of school buses that is now his responsibility. But the mayor demands that one of the buses be sent to the scrap heap because “it doesn’t look new and modern. The other buses are much fancier.” The new superintendent and a female bus driver named Driver Dani fix up the derelict vehicle instead and name it Super Bus: “By the time the cold weather came, the bus was in perfect shape. The powerful engine hummed, and the bus was clean and shiny, inside and out.” During a winter storm, the mayor realizes that his order to “get rid of that monstrosity” was disobeyed when icy roads keep the “fancier” buses from reaching kids stranded at their Hilltop School. It’s Super Bus to the rescue, delivering all the students “safely to their homes.” The appealing hero teaches the mayor (and the audience) a helpful lesson about judging buses—and people—by their appearances. At the end of the lively and enjoyable book, the author invites readers to go back and see if they can find the more than 60 school buses that are scattered throughout Lock’s colorful, cartoon-style images with a delightfully diverse human cast.

Simple but jaunty storytelling with a valuable character message for young readers.