The Big Red Bus

One of the first songs that children learn from television or in school is “Wheels on the bus go round and round”. I remember, as a kid growing up in India…..I was always fascinated by double-decker red buses that used to ply on the roads of Bangalore. Traveling on public transport was a part and parcel of a student’s life back then. Remember the days of ‘Bus Pass, fight over ladies’ seats and the arguing with the rude bus- conductor’! When we came to the US, we lamented the lack of dependable public commute, unless you live in a big city.

Anyway, Abhay sat on a double decker tour bus on our visit to New York City and of the numerous sights and places we went to, the bus ride is all he remembers!! He can’t wait to get to Kindergarten when he can go to school in a bus.

Today Abhay loved the book “The Big Red Bus” by Judy Hindley and illustrated by William Benedict. This book is ideal to be read aloud to quieten a noisy bunch of kids during a get-together at home. This book enables what is known as a shared reading experience. The book carries a note to parents encouraging them to have children complete the lines or read out the dialogues. It was nice to have Abhay guess what happens next as the big red bus gets stuck thereby causing a traffic jam…… fascinating for children here but an everyday nuisance on the Indian roads. When I mentioned this to Abhay, he thought people in India are lucky to witness something as exciting as a red bus stalling all the other vehicles on the road…..well …..One boy’s dream is another boy’s painful reality!