Beep Beep Goes the Bus Driver

I read Beep Beep Goes the Bus Driver by Vincent Scala
I received a free ARC through NetGalley
2 stars

Take a ride on the bus to go pick up a variety of riders. From zoo animals, to bunnies, to the abominable snowman, kids will be kept wondering what animals will come next.

I was pretty disappointed in this book. I chose it because it sounded like something I might be able to read in my preschool story times or sing along. It definitely won't be added to my collection. The illustrations are interesting and colorful, resembling some television shows that kids might recognize. They are not necessarily my style, but they aren't bad.

It is the actual story itself that ruined it for me. Rhyming books need to flow. From the first page, I couldn't get into it. "He passes through the city, the mountains, and the zoo. Here comes the bus driver... I think he's beeping at you." Yes, the "..." is in there. That seems pointless. And then, this one could have been saved with changing the end to "He's beeping at you" instead of "I think he's beeping at you." That wasn't a deal breaker for me, but from that point on I wasn't impressed. Many of the rhymes don't rhyme. Go and Road. Stop and Off.

Then there is this one: "The driver pushes a special red button and up you go with a powerful blast. The bus soars like a rocket through the sky. Beep, beep goes the bus driver, "I don't think I've ever been this high."" What is the point of the first sentence?! It is like the author is having a hard time getting the story in like he wants it, so he just gives up caring if it flows at all.

"All of a sudden, like a dream you can't believe, floating onto the bus is the adventurous Spaceman Steve. "I've lost my rocket, but I've brought everyone cheese." So... is cheese supposed to rhyme with believe and Steve, or was this just another random sentence added even though it doesn't follow the rhyming pattern that happened for the first half of the book.

Is it only me, or does "as you wave everyone goodbye" make no sense?

The book is too long. The illustrations are just okay to me. The story itself has potential, but I focused too much on the issues I listed above to really care about it.