Bus Stops 2013 Edition BB

My daughter has loved this book since she was a year old. At 2.5 years she still loves seeing where the bus goes on its route, who gets off, who misses the bus...She loves to answer the simple questions on each page. (Parents can always ask different questions when they get bored). The text and pictures are just right for the pre-speaking to pre-school age child. There is something on every page to captivate even the youngest child yet, there are so many interesting little details that older children remain interested. And for parents, get this, the bus stops at a movie set and who's in the director's chair but Akira Kurosawa with his white hat and sunglasses. Oh and who's that bearded actor? Toshiro Mifune. No kidding. This book is THAT cool.

My 20-month old loves this book, and with good reason. It's a fantastic example of a book that can grow with a toddler; at first he was most interested in the buses, then started noticing the cars, moved onto the trees, and now loves all the little people. It's a sweet book, gentle in tone. My toddler will spend 15 minutes at a time reading this one with me.

I frequently give this book as a baby gift, and get reports back that it always becomes the baby's top favorite book, the one they want to read everyday over and over - and since it's mostly a visual book that lets the child explore objects and places, and has art-quality illustrations, parents enjoy it too. Taro Gomi's books don't aggressively teach, but just let a small child wander slowly and curiously through the pages, noticing things of interest, always discovering new details.

This book is consistently one of my 16-month-old daughter's favorites. I am sure she'll learn to enjoy it even more as she learns more concepts like numbers, places and action verbs, but right now she's happy to point to the objects she recognizes in the very detailed illustrations and name them (ball, car, dog, kids, helicopter). I really enjoy the illustrations, too, so this is a book I'm always happy to read with her.

This attractive and simple book offers lots to look and and lots to discover. Our son will not outgrow it for a long time -- right now he is interested in looking at the busses and cars. Soon he can join in the simple "I Spy" game that the book presents. He has yet to discover the beautiful colors and shapes, and interesting places and people. I highly recommend this book for 18 months to kindergarten age. Fun for parents, too!