Back-to-School Bus: Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus created by James Dean

THE WHEELS ON THE BUS GO ROUND AND ROUND....

Every preschooler who hasn't been raised in a cave knows the nursery song "The Wheels on the Bus,"  a ballad that describes what happens when kids get on that big yellow bus and venture forth into the world.

This new version of the old song has all the good stuff of the generic version--meter, rhyme scheme, and most of the text--but this bus has an additional attraction--Pete the Cat is in the driver's seat.

The much loved cartoon character is the one who sets this nursery song rolling. He starts the wheels going 'round early in the morning; he makes the doors open and shut with a whoosh,  the wipers to swish back and forth, and the horn go "beep beep beep."

But in James Dean's latest, Pete the Cat: The Wheels on the Bus HarperCollins, 2013), the passengers get a part as well: the little cats being transported add their own words to the venerable song:

THE KITTIES ON THE BUS SAY, "SIT WITH US! SIT WITH US!"

And even the lone dog  on the bus gets to sing "Woof, Woof, WOOF! " until Pete the Driver becomes Pete the Singing Cat once more.  Pulling out his red guitar, Pete lets the dog drive while he serenades the youngsters and sings his own lyrics!

THE CAT ON THE BUS SHOUTS "LET'S ROCK OUT! ALL DAY LONG!"

Pete the Cat is a natural to deliver the old song in his own rocking style, and as an introduction to the structure of this tune, this version is perfect for young Pete fans, especially those with the pre-school panics.

Board the Big Bus: Off to School!

IT'S THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL.

WE SAY GOOD-BYE TO OUR MOMS AND DADS AT THE BUS STOP AND GET ON THE BUS.

Leaving the preschool days behind and taking a seat on that official (and very large) yellow bus is one of the rites of passage in early childhood. Some kids find the big bus the scariest part of the day, and others can't wait to enter those special, swishing doors, the portal to leaving their "baby" days behind, and climb into that "big kid" zone that only "big school" kids can claim as their own.

Barron's attractive little die-cut (with the top of all windows open) board book, Off to School (Barron's, 2010) takes rising Kindergartners on a virtual tour of that epic bus ride and the first day of school that follows. A teacher's aide lines up each class and leads them to their classroom where (Gulp!) their TEACHER awaits them--luckily with a smile. What follows is a birds-eye tour of stuff to know for the first day--the coat hooks, cubbies, their all-important seats with their names already on them, the story circle, the morning snack time, arts and crafts, the playhouse and interest centers, music (with real instruments), and the playground with its big climbing toys--before the big yellow bus pulls back into the driveway to take the kids home to their parents, eagerly awaiting to hear all about it.

For kids just beginning to take that first giant step out into the world, this little yellow bus-shaped book makes a good place to start the countdown to Kindergarten.

Back to School: I'm Your Bus by Marilyn Singer

Howdy! You can count on us.
Morning, evening, I'm your bus!

The genre of "first day of school" books deals with all those nagging fears that schoolkids have--mean teachers, class bullies, no friends at lunch and recess, hard tests, and, yes, even those iconic yellow school buses that growl and groan through the dawn's early light with hissing doors and an intimidating mob of noisy kids inside. As charming as those bright yellow buses look to grown-ups (who don't have to ride them anymore and are glad of it, thank you!), for some kids they can be the most fearful thing about starting to school. (See Barbara Park's classic Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus (Junie B. Jones, No. 1).)

Marilyn Singer's brand-new I'm Your Bus (Scholastic, 2009) does a great job of making those big behemoths seem friendly and even inviting.

Hurry, hurry! Now it's eight.
Busy buses, can't be late!
Get on, Jamie, Carlos, Gus.
Casey, Lacey, I'm your bus.

Past the waving traffic cops.
Past the friendly tire shop.
There's the school zone.
Buses, stop!

Watch those backpacks! Coming through!
Have fun today. Learn something new!

Anthropomorphic buses, with kindly windshield wiper eyes and big smiles, wake up early to ferry the children through cheery morning streets, cheered on by their fellow taxis and trucks. They even watch over those items kids always manage to leave behind.

On the seats we buses find
Lots of school books, every kind--
Pencils, glasses left behind.
Bats and caps--how fabulous!
I'll keep 'em safe
"Cause I'm your bus.

The bus also reminds the kids that he's the one who'll drive them to special fun events--field trips to the zoo, the airport, the farm. And when the day is done, all gassed up and spiffily washed, the buses will roll up again to take the tired but happy kids home.

The buses line up in a row.
Lisa, Devin, Chloe, Moe,
Find your seats and off you'll go.

How'd you grade ME? Wow! A+!
I'm so proud to be your bus!

Cheery and rhythmic text and jolly illustrations by Evan Polenghi make I'm Your Bus a must-read for those first days of school.