THE YELLOW BUS

Gentle-voiced Soneela Nankani narrates the story of a yellow bus whose purpose changes over many years. It begins as a school bus and ends as an underwater structure. Throughout, listeners hear Nankani soothingly repeat the refrain regarding the bus's inhabitants: ". . . and they filled her with joy." Listeners will hear background music, traffic, giggling children, farm noises, and bubbling water. In one iteration, the bus presumably becomes senior citizen transportation, but this will be difficult for children to discern from contextual clues and sound effects. This may be the only flaw in an otherwise lovely audiobook, but it could also inspire a fun exercise to have children guess each evolution of the bus and then compare it to the picture book. Illustration notes are included. L.T. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: AUGUST 2024]