The Seals on the Bus
Lenny Hort does a great job transforming an old favorite into new family fun; and you and your little ones will even get to make animal noises.
The best parts of the book are the illustrations done by G. Brian Karas. He used an interesting artistic technique, specifically -- a gouache acrylic medium pencil and cut paper -- to create wonderfully campy images that go perfectly with the singsong text. How could illustrations created partly with gouache be bad, really?
The book is intended to be, and is, fun for all ages, though probably most appropriate for those under 6 or so. It teaches the younger ones about animals, and would be great for nursery school lessons, as well. Different children will have their own favorite parts to the book, while my son's personal favorite is when the vipers on the bus go, "hiss, hiss, hiss."
This book is simply a pleasure to look at and delightful to read. But who's to say that you need to stop when the book is done? You can continue adding animals onto the bus until the cows come home. By the way, I presume the cows on the bus would go, "moo, moo, moo", but you never know.
