It’s Your First Day of School, Busy Bus!

First-day jitters aren’t just for kids. As another school year dawns, a new-to-the-route school bus wonders if he’s up to the job of transporting students. Luckily, Ben the bus driver makes sure that Busy Bus—contemporary of Bossy, Zippy, Bouncy, and Big Buses—is shipshape. Fans of stories about trucks and how things work will enjoy the behind-the-scenes action at the bus barn as Ben makes adjustments and preparations (“He fills Busy Bus’s tanks with gas. /Gussshhhh!”), and inspects the fire extinguisher and first aid kit. Messer’s digitally colored, lino-print-and-ink images showcase a sunny fleet of anthropomorphized yellow vehicles with headlight eyes and windshield-wiper eyebrows, which expressively raise as Busy Bus expresses his trepidation, and then form a rainbow arch when Busy Bus happily settles into his first day on the job. Ages 3–8. [em](July) [/em]