Back in the Fall, a few months after we moved to our new house, a 14 month old Riley fell in love with school buses. Our new house has a couple school bus stops it seems and if we are outside at the right time we can catch a BUNCH of them. It was really fun, after I started pointing them out to her, to see it finally click with the “Wheels on the Bus” song and the school buses in real life. It became her newest favorite thing and within a couple months she’d even start yelling “school bus” when we were inside because she knew exactly what it sounded like. So of course you know I was gathering up all the books about school buses that I could.
Now at 21 months Riley is still in love with school buses. We read school bus books all the time and we are ALWAYS singing Wheels on the Bus and doing the motions. It doesn’t seem this school bus obsession is wearing off anytime soon. She will yell “kids!!” when we see one because she knows kids get off the bus because we were further up our driveway one day to see them. I love how excited she gets about them so I’ve really had to up my game finding books about school buses.
So I figured I’d share the wealth if you also have a kid who loves school buses and you want to find children’s books about school buses (or featuring them) them too. And even if your kid doesn’t have a special affinity for them yet or care about them some of these are just really great books anyways.
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Books About Buses For Toddlers
I am saying these books about school buses are for toddlers but these school bus themed books would definitely be loved by pre-schoolers and up too! But if you are looking for books about buses for toddlers, these are your best bet to start in my opinion and are the ones that are Riley’s favorites to read.
Karen Katz is everything in this household and this is Riley’s all time FAVORITE school bus book although I think it’s just in general one of her favorite books. It’s an EVENT when we read this one because we do ALLLL the motions. She will even flip through it on her own and do them because she knows exactly which ones go to which page. It’s basically the Wheels On The Bus song but it’s about a bunch of babies on the school bus on their way to school I guess? HIGHLY recommend this if you are looking for a good book about buses for toddlers!
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
This one is really cute and short and it’s set to the rhyme of The Itsy Bitsy Spider. It’s all about the school bus getting up and reading to go to school bus school which is a fun little twist. This is quite the sturdy little board book so it’s a perfect board book about school bus for toddlers who aren’t so gentle!
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The Little School Bus by Mary Cuyler, Bob Kolar
I really like this one! The school bus narrates what he and Driver Bob do and how they pick up the children every day making it a perfect book about buses for toddlers. I love that this book is diverse and inclusive — the kids aren’t all white and the school bus shows how it put its ramp down to let one of the kids in a wheelchair get on. If your toddler would be curious about the “day in a life” of a school bus..this is a good one that shows the school buses’ “job”.
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
You may also like these bedtime books for toddlers and babies!
The Wheels On The BusIf you are looking for an interactive school bus book this version of Wheels On The Bus is the one you have to go with! There are flaps and different things on many of the pages. I wished it had sliders on ALL the pages but alas — still a hit over here though!
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The Seals on The BusIf you have a kid that loves Wheels On The Bus but you are KIIIIINDA sick of it — this is one of my favorite picture books about buses if you are looking for a fun and silly spin on the original song. It’s not just seals but other animals also but it’s great!!
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If your kid loves lift the flap books, this is a great books for kids who love school buses! Riley is OBSESSED with this one even though it’s not really ABOUT school buses. Lots of great learning stuff!
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I think this one is aimed at older kids but there’s no real story to it and sparse as far as words on a page go. I just know that Riley loves it so this book about school buses is toddler approved over here! I feel like an older kid would be bored by it but maybe if they are REALLY into transportation and school buses they might like it if they don’t care about a story! It’s one of the older children’s books about buses on this list but I think it’s a classic!
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
School Bus Books For Pre-schoolers (and Pre-K Kids)
Are you looking for school bus books for preschool age children? Although these books are geared more toward pre-schoolers, toddlers will enjoy them too as well as older kids — I know Riley has enjoyed a lot of these. But overall I think these children’s books about riding the school bus will be helpful for kids curious about school or going to school for the first time.
It’s Your First Day Of School, Busy Bus!
This book is so cute even though Riley is definitely a little too young to get much out of it– would be a good book for preschoolers who are interested in school buses or kids nervous about their first day of school! It’s a cute little story about a school bus’s first day at school! Riley just liked looking at all the pictures of the buses and seeing what the bus does.
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Pete The Cat Wheels On The Bus
We are big Pete The Cat fans over here and Riley loves this Pete the Cat twist on the classic Wheels On The Bus song featuring Pete the Cat. The book says it’s intended for preschoolers but eh Riley loves it a lot! One of my favorite bus books for preschoolers because I just love Pete!
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
Another good one that is a “day in the life” of a school bus book for kids who love school buses but a GREAT if your almost school aged kid is looking for books about riding the school bus. Riley liked this one a lot and I’m sure she will love it even more when she understands the concept of school or when she’s starting school. It’s really cute!
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
You may also like these heartwarming children’s books that always make my mama heart melt.
Riley really enjoyed this one because, even though it’s not technically a SCHOOL bus, because not only did this book feature a bus but it also had a variety of other modes of transportation (that the bus takes the animals to) which she’s been getting into more. She thought it was fun with all the animals that got picked up. It’s definitely an educational book too that would be better suited for preschoolers as their is some math type stuff along with the story that went WAY over Riley’s head. A fun school bus book for preschool age kids!
FIND IT: Amazon / Barnes & Noble
I hope this list of picture books about buses is helpful for your kids! I’d definitely love any other recommendations you might have for books about buses for toddlers especially since we’ve read these over and over again.
And if your kids are truly school bus obsessed I have to recommend some school bus things Riley is loving right now at 21 months:
PIN THESE BUS BOOKS FOR LATER:
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