Today we’ve been reading two delightful children’s books by Sue Wickstead: Jay-Jay the Supersonic Bus and Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure.

With gorgeous illustrations and beautifully written text- these books had my children captivated from the first page. 

The first book, Jay- Jay the Supersonic Bus tells the story of a neglected bus and his exciting transformation into a Play Bus for children.

In it’s sequel- Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure, the bus is excited to visit some children who live on an Island. But first he has to overcome his anxiety and fears over the rough sea.

What did we like about them? 

• Important Morals: Both of these books by Sue Wickstead have very valuable morals for children. In the first book, Jay-Jay’s circumstances improve from being in a scrap yard to being a fun Play Bus! This teaches children about recycling and not to give up hope, however difficult situations may feel. In Jay-Jay and his Island Adventure– Jay-Jay is very anxious about travelling by ferry for the first time. Children learn that it’s OK to find new situations daunting.

• Novel Story-  Sue Wickstead’s stories are wonderfully unique. Making them incredibly exciting and engaging for children. They are completely original and unlike any other book on my children’s bookshelf. For example, we loved that the main character in these books is a Bus!

• Illustrations – The illustrations are beautiful and they cleverly feature things that, in my experience really interest children- airplanes, buses, toys, other children playing, boats etc.

• Based on a Real Play Bus-  We were delighted to discover that the inspiration for these books was a real bus that was used as a playgroup venue! This makes the books even more exciting- as children discover that playing on a bus could be a reality for them too!