Review by Booklist Review
Animals! Vehicles! Counting! Yes, the preschool trifecta is in place for this tale aimed at the tiniest of tots. The simplest of declarative sentences get us chugging: I am Joe. This is my car. This is my bus. I drive my bus to town. There, good old Joe makes his first stop, where he picks up one dog. On his second stop, he picks up two cats. You see where this is going: nowhere having to do with plot and everywhere having to do with gentle addition, and then, when the animals depart via boat, train, and plane, subtraction. The text reinforces the pictures so well that even beginning speakers will be reciting the words. The Photoshop art, meanwhile, looks as if constructed from Play-Doh huge, rounded shapes with few details are doused in blazing primary colors. The final pages nudge toward a conclusion of sorts: Joe and the single remaining dog My dog! drive home, finished at last with another long day of carting around pet travelers.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2014 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In 2001, when Barton's My Car was published, gas could be had for less than $2 per gallon, so it makes sense that he's turned to public transportation in this companion book. Rather than explaining how his bus works, driver Joe is focused on telling readers about his animal passengers, whose pickups and drop-offs turn the book into an informal primer on addition and subtraction ("At my last stop, four dogs get on my bus. There are five dogs and five cats on my bus"). The lurid palette and elementally simple shapes of Barton's digital artwork are made for grabbing eyeballs, and his chunky characters and vehicles give the impression of playroom toys come to life. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-Joe, a bus driver, takes readers on his route through the rolling hills to a little town. Full spreads with minimal text show him picking up dogs or cats at each stop. When the bus is packed with five dogs and five cats, it's time to drop them off at either a boat, train, or plane. Happily, Joe still has one passenger left at the end of the trip: his own dog. The beautiful, bold colors produced in Adobe Photoshop are attractive, while the use of simple, childlike shapes and few words will make it easy for student to concentrate on the new skills of reading and counting. The large, square format is clean and inviting. This book is perfect for independent readers but can also be shared one-on-one or with a group. Parents can encourage youngsters to count the number of pets on or off the different types of transportation.-Diane McCabe, John Muir Elementary, Santa Monica, CA (c) Copyright 2014. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In a companion volume to My Car (rev. 11/01), we ride along with Joe as he drives Bus #123 across a bold-hued landscape populated with feline and canine passengers. "At my first stop, one dog gets on my bus. / At my second stop, two cats get on my bus." After four stops, he points out he has five dogs and five cats riding on his bus. And here's where the real fun for toddler transportation enthusiasts begins: Joe drops off one dog and two cats at a boat ("They sail away"), two dogs and one cat at a train, and one dog and two cats at a plane; the last little dog ("My dog!") goes home with Joe in his car. Beyond the initial excitement many young children will feel as they share Joe's journey and see the departing animals through the windows of their various vehicles, there is so much here for repeated readings (and there will be repeated readings). Barton ingeniously introduces the basic concepts of cardinal and ordinal numbers, addition, subtraction, and sets, but he does it all so subtly that even parents may not realize they're getting a math lesson. And yet it's all there for little brains to absorb and work out on their own as they "sail, ride, and fly away" again and again. Illustrated in Barton's signature style, with bold, flat colors and with only the most important visual details included, this is a welcome companion to My Car. kathleen t. horning (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In an elemental bit of grouping and number play, Joe the bus driver picks up and drops off animal passengers on his route. By switching narrators, Byron passes up the chance for a neat segue from My Car (2001), which ends with motorist Sam leaving his car to drive off in a bus. Still, he has a lot of fun even with a different narrator. One dog, two cats, three more cats and finally four dogs board in succession, then depart in mixed groups of three for further trips in a train, a boat and a plane (the last dog goes home with Joe). The very simple illustrations are done in Barton's characteristic style, in opaque, mostly primary colors with minimal detailing. Even very young children will have no trouble seeing and counting the passengers as they come and gothough more reflective viewers may be confused by Joe's claim that "I drive my bus to town," as all of the scenes show only rolling green hills with widely separated houses. In what can be read as a deft bit of humor, the cats and dogs sit peaceably (if on opposite sides of the bus) and, like commuters everywhere, stare glassily off into the distance rather than make eye contact with one another. A pleasant ride, dissonance between the actual and described setting notwithstanding. (Picture book. 2-5)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
